His Wish
by inugrl21
Summary: Naraku is dead, the Shikon Jewel is complete, and Kagome is ... depressed? What did Inuyasha do now?
1. The End of Evil

His Wish

Chapter 1

The End of Evil

Kagome woke slowly. The morning light filtered through the slit of her curtains, causing dust motes to dance languidly through the air. She lay on her side and watched the movement with half-open eyes as her brain slowly returned to its normal functioning levels.

It was over.

The quest for the Shikon Jewel shards was complete. Naraku was defeated, the jewel was whole, and the world was a safer place.

Kagome sighed and rolled onto her back. She threw an arm across her forehead so she could stare at the ceiling morosely. 'I wish that I'd had some advance warning it was going to end that day.'

* * *

The day in question had started like so many days before it had started. After everyone awakened, breakfast served, and Miroku's wandering hands beaten into submission for the moment, the group of friends had set out to continue their journey. Around mid-day, Kagome sensed an obscene number of jewel shards. Only one person had that many shards nowadays and he was not on anyone's happy list.

Inuyasha growled when Kagome told him of her suspicions. With a confidence that infected his friends, the inu-hanyou raced off in the direction the miko indicated, closely followed by everyone else. They caught up with him on the edge of a pleasant forest clearing. An ironic choice of scenery considering the battle that would take place there shortly.

Naraku was sitting in the middle of the glade with his back to the group, seemingly unaware of the presence of his greatest adversaries. All of his attention was on the slight form of the boy in front of him.

"Kohaku," whispered Sango.

For it was indeed the slayer's younger sibling. He had disappeared several days prior, following the call of the Shikon Jewel. Kohaku believed that by answering this summons, he could somehow repent for all the murders he had committed while under Naraku's influence.

"Boy," Naraku's deep baritone sent shivers up and down Kagome's spine. "Do you plan to defy me? All I need to do to stop you is to remove the shard in your back."

"NO!"

Hiraikotsu sweeping between former master and ex-slave drew Naraku's attention to his audience.

"Well, I see that you've finally joined us, Inuyasha," Naraku smirked.

"Shut up, you bastard!" Inuyasha snapped, drawing Tetsusaiga. The fang blazed to life, the wind scar swirling around the blade in eager tendrils. "This is the day you're going to die, so prepare yourself! Kaze no Kizu!"

Inuyasha released the attack that he had been holding in check. The energy waves flowed harmlessly over Naraku's barrier. Without missing a beat, the hanyou activated Red Tetsusaiga and swung the sword once more. This time the blast disintegrated the barrier, leaving Naraku open to more attacks.

"You fools cannot possibly hope to defeat me." Naraku chided, with a sinister chuckle. "You have already failed on too many occasions to count. What could be any different on this day?"

Kagome was wondering the same thing, when she suddenly felt the tingle that announced the arrival of more jewel shards. 'Kouga-kun.'

No sooner thought then appeared, the wolf demon slid into the battle well prepared, the Goraishi fading into being over his left hand.

"Naraku!" Swiping his new toy at the villain, Kouga managed to separate Naraku from one of his arms and a number of tentacles. This surprise attack left the evil hanyou at a slight disadvantage. Unfortunately, it also meant that his attackers could no longer catch him off his guard, for he would now be ready for almost anything.

"A lucky shot, wolf. One that will not be repeated."

"Keh. Hey Kouga! Couldn't you have aimed a little more towards the middle of his body?" Inuyasha taunted.

"Shut up, inu-kuro! I'd like to see you get a better hit."

"I will if you get out of my way!"

Kouga was already dodging to the side, as Inuyasha began to sweep Tetsusaiga in another Kaze no Kizu.

While this display of testosterone was taking place, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were conferring on the continuation of the battle.

"We have to track down Moryoumaru and that baby," Miroku offered. "Otherwise we cannot win."

Kagome puzzled over this fact. "But how can we track them down. We have no idea where they may be."

"Perhaps I can help with that."

A quick indrawn breath, then a whispered "Kikyo," was Kagome's reaction. The resurrected priestess emerged from the trees to join the huddle that the three companions had created. Meanwhile the fight in the glade raged on without pause.

Kikyo turned to Kagome, because, for some reason, she seemed most comfortable speaking with her reincarnation, regardless of past actions. "Kagome, I have already disposed of the carrier of Naraku's heart."

Kagome gasped. "By yourself? But how…?"

Kikyo raised a hand to stop the question. "That is unimportant. I was able to severe the connection between Naraku and the baby, so he is unaware of my actions. Now all that remains is to purify the Shikon Jewel and banish Naraku from this world. Will you aid me?"

"Do you need to ask? Of course, I'll help."

"Good." Kikyo nodded, "Since all of the shards are present, all that is needed is to gather them together."

"But that means Kohaku-kun will…"

"It's alright, Kagome-chan," Sango sounded resigned. "I've been thinking and it seems like Kohaku has already accepted his death. I'm the one who needs to come to terms with it. And besides, all I really want is for him to be happy and not suffer anymore. If this is the way to do that, then you have my permission."

Miroku placed his hand on the slayer's shoulder. "Sango, that is very brave of you. And I'm sure Kohaku will trust your judgment in this matter."

"Arigatou, Houshi-sama." Sango smiled wanly, "Do what you must, Kikyo-sama."

With a nod, Kikyo turned to Kagome. "You must concentrate on completing the Jewel. Since Naraku has the majority of the Jewel, we must send the remaining shards towards him. Then, once the Jewel is complete, I will send him to Hell."

"Right. How do we reunite the shards?" Kagome asked.

"Remember the day we were trapped in that miko-eating cave. This will be similar to then." At Kagome's nod, Kikyo continued, "Good. Just take my hands and focus all your energy on where the final shards are." The priestess grabbed the younger girl's hands, "Now visualize the shards rejoining the whole."

Taking a deep breath, Kagome closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel the resonance of the shards in the bottle around her neck as well as in both Kohaku and Kouga's bodies. Holding the image of the shards, Kagome reached out spiritually for the rest of the Jewel.

Naraku held the remainder in his possession and whilst there the Jewel had become corrupted with his evil. His tainted jyaki caused Kagome's stomach to lurch until she was barely able to maintain the vision she needed to fulfill Kikyo's plan. Steeling her nerves, Kagome took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and centered her attention back to her task.

Slowly, painstakingly, the feel of the shards changed. They listened. There was no other way to describe the sensation Kagome was receiving. It felt like the Jewel was listening to Kikyo and her's request to become complete. As slowly as it started, the feeling from the shards changed again. Now they were disappearing from where they had been and were realigning themselves with the whole. In almost no time at all, Kagome could tell that the Jewel was now complete.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes, just in time to witness Kouga stumbling as his powers returned to normal and Kohaku slump to ground on the other side of the clearing.

"Kohaku," Sango whispered. She then darted forward in an obvious attempt to reach her brother.

"Sango, be careful!" Miroku shouted to the retreating slayer, before chasing after her.

Luckily for the two of them, Inuyasha and Kouga were managing to distract Naraku with their attacks. Kagome stood, amazed at how well the inu-hanyou and wolf demon could work together. The battle now seemed more like a ballet performed with swords and punches. Not the best analogy, but it was the best the girl could come up with on such short notice.

"Kagome." A slight tug on her hands brought Kagome's attention back to Kikyo. "There is still more to do."

Kagome blinked. 'More to do? What the heck is she talking ab… oh yeah. Dummy, how could you forget?' Pulling her slightly sweaty hand out of Kikyo's cooler dry one, Kagome reached up to examine the jar which contained the shards. To her mild astonishment, the jar was empty.

Kagome raised her head back up and fixed her gaze on the priestess. Kikyo allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips at the younger miko's slightly dazed expression. "Yes, Kagome, the shards have disappeared. Though you shouldn't be surprised. You have more power than you know. All that is left to do is to send Naraku to Hell."

Shaking off her stupor, Kagome questioned the older miko, "But, Kikyo, how am I to do that? I didn't even know I could meld the shards together like that until just now." Kagome was now wringing her wrists, since Kikyo had released her other hand. "I don't think I'm ready to do anything that powerful yet."

Kikyo smiled once again at the girl's nervousness. "Do not worry about dealing with that aspect. I will be the one to personally escort Naraku into the depths of Hell."

Kagome gasped. "But, Kikyo, what about Inuya…" Kikyo's raised palm cut short Kagome's inquiry.

"No more questions. It is my decision and my responsibility to deal with Naraku in this manner. Besides, I would not deprive Inuyasha of you. I am dead and should have remained so, while you are alive and can heal Inuyasha of his soul-wounds, which I can no longer hope to do." Kikyo sighed in a melancholy fashion, "He deserves to be taken care of by someone who loves and trusts him wholeheartedly. I can no longer say, nor could ever have said, that I trusted him completely. There was always doubt between us and my resurrection served no purpose, save misery."

"That's not true, Kikyo! Your resurrection had a purpose," Kagome fidgeted after her outburst. "If it hadn't been for you, we would never have known about Naraku's connection with you and Inuyasha. Not to mention we wouldn't be standing here without you. You have helped us in the past the same as we have helped you. Plus, Inuyasha still loves you and I'm just in the way," Kagome hung her head at her own admission. 'I am completely useless here anyway,' she thought.

A sudden hand under her chin, forced Kagome to look into Kikyo's eyes. The eyes that were so similar to her own and yet were so completely different. The sorrow in the priestess's gaze was almost enough to make Kagome start bawling. But the flicker of another emotion made Kagome pause. 'What was that? Was it… amusement?'

Kikyo passed her hand over Kagome's cheek as she smiled at the girl sadly. "Kagome. You are a fool."

"Huh?"

"You still do not see how much he loves _you_. I never held his heart as firmly as you do. Besides, you are my reincarnation. Your soul was my soul. Because of that, he need not lose either of us. Only one physical body will be destroyed and that one shall be mine." Kikyo then turned and moved closer to the fight, where Sango and Miroku had joined Inuyasha and Kouga in attacking Naraku. The foursome was holding up pretty well, though Inuyasha was beginning to look a little worse for wear. Even without the shards, Kouga was still amazingly quick and agile. However, Naraku was pulling ahead. His attacks were timed out so they could inflict the most damage with the least amount of energy. He had to be stopped. And soon. Otherwise, their little group would drop dead from exhaustion long before Naraku managed to land the killing blows.

Kagome trotted over to where Kikyo was now standing. "So what do you want me to do?"

Kikyo angled her face towards Kagome, "All I need you to do is to shoot an arrow."

"An arrow?"

Kikyo nodded. "Yes. When I tell you, shoot your purifying arrow, aiming for Naraku's heart. With the baby destroyed, his heart should have returned to his chest."

Kagome just had to ask, "How did you kill the baby and Moryoumaru?"

"I'll admit that I had some help with it. Inuyasha's brother brought down the monster, Moryoumaru, while I severed the connection between Naraku and his heart's carrier and disposed of it."

'That was nice of Sesshoumaru,' Kagome thought. 'I knew he wasn't such a bad guy.' "Are you still set on your plan to escort Naraku to Hell, Kikyo?"

Kikyo returned her attention to the battlefield, her eyes resting on the fallen body of Kohaku. There was no question that he was dead; otherwise Sango wouldn't be fighting so ferociously and with such a pained expression on her face. "Take that boy's body to Sesshoumaru afterwards. He should be able to revive him. Just remind him that he owes a favor to me. Now, are you ready, Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. It didn't work so well. 'I guess Kikyo is determined to go through with this. All I can do is follow her lead.'

Kikyo was waiting for Kagome's answer. "Yes, Kikyo. I'm ready. Just say when."

"Then draw your bow and aim carefully. We shall only receive one chance. _I_ shall only have one chance to do this."

"I understand."

Kikyo sank to a kneeling position in the grass and began praying. Kagome watched as the priestess fell into a trance and the beginnings of the spell surrounded her. Motes of rosy pink spiritual energy began swirling around the two mikos. Slowly at first, but as Kikyo settled further into her trance, the energy flowed much quicker. Soon Kagome was barely able to keep her eyes open for fear of being blinded by the light from Kikyo's spell. Then, suddenly, Kagome was able to see again.

'Where'd all that energy go?' Kagome searched about in a perplexed manner, trying to see where all that pink light had disappeared.

"Be ready."

Kikyo's soft voice startled Kagome from her hunt. Glancing down, Kagome found the answer of where the weird light had gone. Kikyo glowed with the energy from the spell and Kagome was hard-pressed to look directly at the priestess.

"Kikyo."

"Be ready," Kikyo repeated. "Fire on my word."

Kagome nodded curtly, "Right."

Kikyo struggled to her feet and stood next to Kagome. Placing her hand on the girl's arm that the arrow would be lined up against, Kikyo spoke one word. "Aim."

Kagome notched her arrow and pulled the bowstring taut. As soon as she pulled back, Kikyo began muttering under her breath again. The power from the previous spell washed through Kagome and ran along the arrow. 'Amazing. So much power and it all fits in one tiny arrow. Totally cool.' Then Kagome noticed a problem. If she fired off this atomic bomb of an arrow, then Inuyasha, Kouga, Sango, and Miroku would probably all be hit by Kikyo's spell, too. That would not be a good thing.

"Um, Kikyo. We need to get everyone else out of the way." Unfortunately, Kikyo was not paying attention. She had slipped back into her trance. 'I guess so she can keep this energy level up. So I have to do something about my friends then.'

"Inuyasha!"

Said dog-boy had just missed an attack by one of Naraku's tentacles. He dodged quickly back and forth as he tried to reach Kagome, to see what she wanted. However, Naraku's attacks wouldn't let him close to the girl, so Inuyasha settled for yelling at her.

"What is it, wench? I'm kinda busy right now!"

"I know that. You need to clear a space around Naraku, so I can fire this arrow." Kagome pitched her voice so that only Inuyasha would be able to hear her request.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." She heaved a sigh of relief. Inuyasha would get everyone out of harm's way.

"Kagome." Kikyo was back from La-La Land. "Ready?"

"Inuyasha! Now!"

"Aim."

"Naraku! This is your end!"

"Kagome-sama!"

"Kagome-chan!"

"Kagome!"

"Fire."

The arrow was released.

'Good luck, Kikyo.'

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

A/N: Here's my one-shot I promised (in my bio). Unfortunately, I decided to split it up into more manageable chunks. In other words, it is a four chapter long one-shot. Wierd but oh well.

Remember all, Inuyasha belongs to me in my dreams.

Please review or e-mail if you have questions, compliments, etc. Love ya!

* * *


	2. Options Open

I've kidnapped Inuyasha! He is now tied up in my basement. Wait, I don't have a basement. (wanders off in search of dream interpetation book, grumbling all the way)

His Wish

Chapter 2

Options Open

RRIIIINNNNGGG!

'Damn alarm clock.' Kagome sat up in her bed and grabbed for the offending technology. After clicking it off, Kagome decided a bath would be a much nicer way to wake up fully.

She trudged down the hall to the bathroom, only to find that Souta was already occupying the facilities. A few moments pounding on the door gained Kagome access into her personal (well sort of) haven.

She sighed as she closed the door and locked it. Retreating to the bathtub, Kagome turned on the spigots of hot and cold water. She brushed her teeth while waiting for the tub to fill.

Kagome had just slid into the pleasantly hot water, when there was a knock on the door.

"Kagome, dear." It was Mama.

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget about school today. And breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

"Alright, Mama. I'll be out soon."

Kagome listened as her mother's steps faded into silence. Sighing, Kagome returned her thoughts to their previous musings.

* * *

After firing the arrow, Kagome had blacked out. All the energy pouring from Kikyo had exhausted the younger miko. Unfortunately, it had killed Kikyo. Again.

Kagome regained consciousness a few minutes later. Naturally, she was disoriented and wanted to know what had happened. Miroku, who had been watching over the sleeping miko, was the one to answer her questions, seeing as how Sango was mourning Kohaku, Kouga had run off, and Inuyasha was sulking somewhere.

Apparently, the arrow that Kagome had shot had disintegrated Naraku into dust. That was rather obvious news though and Kagome wanted to know what had happened to Kikyo.

"Well as far as I can tell," said Miroku, "she had weaved all of her spiritual power and life energy into her spell. And when you fired the arrow, she lost all of her dead souls and collapsed into a pile of clay dust."

"Did she manage to take Naraku to Hell, like she planned?" Kagome asked anxiously, as she sat up slowly to avoid making herself dizzy.

Miroku sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "That I don't know. All I do know is that Naraku is dead. See, look!" He slipped off the gauntlet that covered his Kazaana arm and displayed his palm. The flesh was solid and perfect, with no indication that there had ever been a gaping, sucking void in the middle of his hand.

"That's wonderful, Miroku-sama. I'm so happy for you," Kagome exclaimed happily. "What does Sango-chan think of this?" she added with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Miroku grimaced and Kagome automatically sobered. "Sango is… honestly, I don't know how she is. I know she said she'd be okay, but when Kohaku collapsed and we went over to him, we found that he was still alive. But just barely."

Kagome clasped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, no. What happened?"

Miroku ran his, now curse free, hand through his hair, before dropping it back into his lap. He sighed, "Kohaku stayed alive long enough to ask for Sango's forgiveness and to wish her a long and happy life. He also said that he was no longer afraid of dying, because he was already dead."

"Where is Sango-chan?" Kagome stood, a little wobbly at first, in order to find her friend.

"She's still sitting by his body, just over there." Miroku pointed to a spot in the trees. "We had to leave the glade, due to all of Naraku's… um… body parts poisoning the air."

Kagome pulled her face into a sour look. "Thanks for the visual, Miroku-sama. I'll be back."

Kagome tottered over to the place Miroku had shown her. Sure enough, there was Sango, leaning against a tree with Kohaku's body lying about ten feet in front of her, covered by the slayer's apron. Kirara was curled at the top of Kohaku's head in a mournful attitude.

"Sango-chan?"

Sango raised her head. "Ah, Kagome-chan. You're awake. We've been so worried, especially Inuyasha."

Kagome knelt down next to the demon slayer. "Thanks for worrying, but I'm ok now. My head's too tough to crack easily." She demonstrated by rapping her knuckles on her skull. Sango huffed a weak laugh at her antics. "So, how are you doing? Miroku-sama told me what happened after Kohaku-kun's shard was removed."

Sango sighed and looked back down at her brother. "He asked for my forgiveness, Kagome-chan. I told him that he had never needed it to begin with."

"Of course, he didn't. What he did was never his fault. It was all Naraku's doing and now he's dead. Thank goodness for that at least." Kagome flopped back against the same tree as Sango.

"Yeah," Sango perked up a bit as she thought this over. "Yeah, he's dead. Finally, my village has been avenged and Houshi-sama's curse has been lifted. Now we can all go back to leading normal lives, right, Kagome-chan?" The slayer turned her face towards the miko, expecting to see a smile, but was rewarded with a frown. "Kagome-chan, what's wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing I guess. I'm just wondering what I'm going to do now." Kagome sighed. "Now that Naraku's destroyed and the Jewel is gone, I guess I'm not needed here any…"

"Who said anything about the Jewel being gone?"

Both Kagome and Sango jumped as Inuyasha dropped from the tree branch above them.

"God, Inuyasha!" Kagome screeched. "Don't do that! You scared the heck out of us!"

He shrugged. "Sorry, didn't mean to. I was just passin' by to check on you, when I found you already here. How are you feelin'?" Inuyasha crouched down in front of Kagome and placed his palm on her forehead, while Sango watched with a quietly amused air.

Kagome blushed. "I'm fine, Inuyasha. I woke up a few minutes ago and have been talking to Miroku-sama and Sango-chan about what happened. And what did you mean by 'who said anything about the Jewel being gone?' Didn't the Jewel disappear with Naraku and Kikyo?"

Inuyasha dropped his arm to his knee and sighed, "Nope. Not unless this glowing ball of pink stuff is a fake, it didn't."

Kagome stared as he pulled a fully completed Shikon Jewel from his haori. It was the real thing, too, or Kagome would eat her left shoe. She hadn't spent the better part of two years searching for the damned thing to not know what its aura felt like. "B-but how…? Why didn't…? I-I thought that…" she stuttered.

"Look. I don't know what Kikyo said to you about the Jewel disappearing or not, but when Naraku went 'boom', this was laying on the ground where he'd been standing." Inuyasha cut off her half-uttered questions so he could explain. "And all I care about is that the bastard's dead and gone. About freakin' time, too." With that, he plopped the Jewel into Kagome's unexpecting hand.

The poor girl could only gape at the pink ball sitting so innocently in her palm. 'To think, all this trouble over such a tiny thing,' Kagome thought, an oddly affectionate half-smile quirking her lips. Out loud she said, "Well, I guess we'd better do something with this thing, huh, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou blinked in agreement. "Yeah, okay. What do you want to do?"

Kagome posed thoughtfully, an index finger situated on her chin. "Um… Oh, I know!" She clapped her hands together. "Let's go ask Kaede-bachan. She should have some good ideas. Besides, we need to tell her about Kikyo. And I'm sure Shippou-chan is missing us terribly. You know how he gets."

"Keh. That runt decided to stay behind on his own, remember? He'd better not come crying to me because he changed his mind _after_ we left." Inuyasha eased into a standing position, before offering a hand to each of the two girls still sitting. After the girls were upright, he glanced over his shoulder to the corpse of Sango's brother. "Hey, Sango."

"Yes?" Sango was too busy brushing grass off her skirt to notice the strange glint in the inu-hanyou's eyes, but Kagome caught it. 'I've never seen him look so… I don't know. Maybe empathetic is the right word. I guess he probably knows exactly how Sango is feeling right now, what with Kikyo and all.'

Inuyasha had wandered over towards the body. "What do you want to do with your brother?"

"Oh!" Kagome smacked herself mentally and physically for having forgotten what Kikyo had told her about Kohaku. "I can't believe I forgot."

Sango was cautiously watching her friend to see what the girl had just remembered that caused her to hit herself in the head like that. "Kagome-chan, what is it?"

Kagome whirled on Sango, clutching the slayer's arm in her hand. "Something Kikyo told me. She said that we should take Kohaku-kun to Sesshoumaru and he will revive him."

"B-but why would he do something like that?" Sango appeared shocked, to say the least, but also reluctant to hope for such a miracle to occur.

"Because he owes Kikyo a favor for helping to kill Moryoumaru and the baby and she passed the favor onto me." Sango now looked like she was about to faint from relief. "Don't worry, Sango-chan. You'll get your brother back." Kagome hugged her friend tightly, before whispering, "And don't worry about his memories. I'm positive you can help him recover from them."

By this time, Sango was sobbing into Kagome's shoulder. Whether they were tears of joy or of heartache, it didn't matter. Sango now had a way to have Kohaku returned to her, even if she decided against bringing the boy back to life.

Kagome dared a glance at Inuyasha to see if he was scoffing at the 'silly women's crying', but, surprisingly, he was grinning almost ear to ear, and, considering where his ears were situated, it was quite a feat of muscular achievement. She couldn't help but grin back at her dog-boy's expression, while continuing to comfort the slayer.

"Inuyasha, will you go tell Miroku-sama the good news and to come over here?" Kagome asked quietly, knowing that he would be able to hear her. "We probably should get going soon, if we want to track down Sesshoumaru tonight." Inuyasha nodded and left Kagome to tend to the, now, emotionally exhausted Sango. 'I'll let him know what else Kikyo said when we get back to Kaede-bachan's' she thought peacefully, as she and Sango slid back down to the ground, where the slayer fell promptly asleep, with Kagome still stroking her hair.

* * *

"Nee-chan! Get out of the tub before you turn into a prune! And Mom says to hurry up, too, or you won't get any breakfast!"

Kagome jerked awake. 'I can't believe I dozed off in the tub.' To her brother, "Alright, I'm coming, you little brat!" She heard Souta scurrying back down the stairs, as she pulled herself from the now tepid water.

'Is this how it's going to be all day? I drift off in my mind, then get scared witless back to reality? What a day this will be.' Kagome wrapped a towel around herself and yanked the plug out of the bath's drain. She sighed, 'I guess it'll be like that until I can deal with all that happened.'

Now, with a towel turbaned over her hair, Kagome growled in her throat, anger overtaking her depression, "Inuyasha no baka. How dare he do that to me. Especially when he knows how mad it would make me." But as quickly as it had come, her anger left her. Heaving a defeated sigh, she ambled her way back to her room to get dressed for school.

'Still,' She paused mid-way through dressing, 'I wonder if he really knew what he was doing. He just never seems to think before he acts. Well, either that or he usually thinks he's justified in his actions.' She sighed again as she continued to pull her uniform top over her head. 'Stupid idiot never thinks anything through and I'll make sure he'll regret it for the rest of his life.' Kagome paused again. 'But still…'

"Kagome! Come downstairs! You're already running late and your breakfast is getting cold!"

"Hai, Mama! I'll be right down!" she yelled back at her mother, as she scampered from her room. 'Back to my old life, I guess,' Kagome thought miserably, no more pleased to return to the old ways as she was to suffer through her horrible geometry class in a couple hours.


	3. Closure

His Wish

Chapter 3

Closure

Kagome listened distractedly to her friends prattle on about the test that they'd had in their last class.

"Geez, Ayumi-chan, just make us all feel bad about that test," Yuka was chastising the curly haired girl across from her.

"But that test was so _easy_, right, Eri-chan?" The shorthaired girl glanced around, then pointed at herself in a 'Who, me?' attitude. Ayumi sighed and changed tactics. "Never mind. What about you, Kagome-chan?" All three girls turned to the fourth, who was staring out the window of their favorite WacDonalds in a very depressed manner. The schoolgirls immediately drew into a huddle to debate battle strategies.

"What's wrong with her? She's been doing that _all_ day." Eri stated.

Yuka agreed, "Totally. It must be that boyfriend of hers. I wonder what he's done now?"

Ayumi threw in her two cents as well. "Maybe it's not him." With the incredulous looks of the other two girls on her, she explained, "I mean that one time we met him, he seemed really nice, don't you think?"

"Point taken," Yuka nodded. "So then what could it be?"

Eri sighed, "I don't know. Maybe she's sick again."

"Or maybe you could just ask me, instead of talking like I can't hear you." The three girls whipped their heads up so fast that they nearly brained each other. Kagome just watched with one eyebrow raised as they tried to straighten themselves out. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Never mind, you guys. I'm gonna go home now." She stood up to leave.

"But Kagome-chan…" All three chimed in unison.

Kagome raised her hands in a stopping gesture. "No, I just have some stuff to think about. I'm fine really. See ya later."

As she left, Kagome heard Yuka say, "Man, she's only like this when it has something to do with her boyfriend. He must have done something really bad to get Kagome-chan _that_ depressed."

Kagome rushed out the door with Eri and Ayumi's agreements flooding her ears and tears starting to flow.

* * *

'God, I'm such an idiot.'

Kagome had raced home, completely disregarding the fact that she still two classes left in the school day. Fortunately, Mama hadn't even questioned her when she burst through the door with tears still on her face. All Mama did was give her daughter a supportive hug, make her a cup of tea, and remind Kagome that should she need to talk, her mother was always open to conversation. With that reassurance, Kagome was able to calm down enough to tell Mama what had happened.

Now, Kagome was up in her room, still pondering her memories.

* * *

They had finally arrived back at Kaede's village. It hadn't taken long to find Sesshoumaru after the final battle, seeing as how he had been on his way to the fight as it was. It had been almost laughably easy to get the stoic dog-demon to agree to their favor, although having his human ward, Rin, making puppy dog eyes at the mention of Kohaku was the epitome of cuteness and irony. With one sweep of Tenseiga, Kohaku was revived and Sango was overjoyed at having her little brother back in her arms.

A pleasant, if not slightly disturbing, side effect of the resurrection was that a majority of Kohaku's horrific memories had been repressed. Sesshoumaru explained that the boy would remember in time, but only when his mind was capable of accepting the guilt that would undoubtedly surface. Still, while not a perfect solution, it was better than nothing.

Now, the victorious group returned to the village to inform Kaede of her sister's fate.

Kagome had insisted on speaking with the old woman alone, since she felt a familial connection towards the woman. "So we brought her ashes back to be reburied at the shrine."

Kaede nodded. "I'm glad she found her peace. I was beginning to wonder if she ever would."

"Yeah."

"Although, I must say it is surprising that she relinquished her claim on Inuyasha." Kaede stared into her cooking fire as if it would provide the answers to her queries.

"Yeah, I'm not entirely sure why, either. It was like she was giving us permission to be together or something." Leaning against her backpack, Kagome puzzled over the enigma that had been Kikyo. After a few moments of contemplative silence, the young miko shook her head in discouragement. "Anyway. What I really came to ask you was what to do with the Jewel, now that it's complete?"

The old woman started at the question, "Why ask me? You are now the guardian of the Shikon No Tama. It is yours to do with as you see fit." She paused for a moment. "I suppose you could retain the Jewel as it is now and protect it from falling into the wrong hands ever again."

Kagome pondered this option briefly, before dismissing it entirely. "I don't think I want to do that. I mean, look what happened my first time around. The thought of the Jewel shattering again makes me shudder." She demonstrated and Kaede chuckled.

"Well then, your other options are to either purify it with your own powers," Kagome's look of 'yeah, right' put that idea down as well, "or you, or someone you trust, could use it to make a wish."

The girl sat up a bit straighter as the suggestion began to take hold. 'Yeah, that's what was going to happen originally, so why not finish the story that way.' She smiled as she pictured what Inuyasha would say when she told him her plan.

"Oi, wench"

'Yup, it'd start off with something like that.' Then she realized that she hadn't heard that just in her head, but from outside the hut. Smiling warmly at Kaede and thanking her, Kagome scampered to her feet and out the doorway.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she called pleasantly once outside.

The hanyou was perched on the fence surrounding the small herb garden next to the house. He impatiently waved Kagome over to him.

"Hey, what's taking so long? I thought you had something to tell me, too?"

Remembering that she had asked to speak with Inuyasha after she finished with Kaede, Kagome grinned at the new information she had to give him. "Yeah, sorry. It took longer to explain than I thought it would and I had a few other things to ask about, too."

Inuyasha peered at her curiously, "What sort of things?"

Kagome giggled at the way he cocked his head to one side. 'Just like a puppy,' she thought affectionately.

She grabbed his hand and began pulling him in the direction of the well. They walked in silence for the few minutes it took to reach her real destination, the Goshinboku. She halted at the base of the enormous tree and stared up into its branches, thinking over all possible scenarios.

"You want to go up?"

Inuyasha's question startled her into spinning around. Unfortunately, since neither of them had dropped the other's hand, this caused her to slam straight into him and send both of them crashing to the ground, with her sprawled on top of him.

"Okay. That hurt."

"Baka, if you hadn't scared me, I wouldn't have knocked you over," she snapped, leaning forward, to better make her point.

"Maybe if you had been paying attention, instead of daydreaming, I wouldn't have scared you," he growled back, as he craned his head up, their faces now inches apart.

Suddenly, the concept of their proximity hit the bickering teenagers. Their reactions were mirror images of each other. Eyes wide at first realization, then a fiery blush erupted over cheekbones and nose, all followed closely by scrambling as quickly as possible from the object/person of embarrassment.

After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, Kagome decided this was as good a time as any to begin their conversation. She glimpsed over to the hanyou sitting next to her.

"I-Inuyasha?"

She caught the ear flick that indicated he was listening. "Ano, I'm not quite sure how to start…"

"Just spit it out."

His tone wasn't gruff as usual. It sounded like he almost knew what she was going to say and was just waiting for confirmation. Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat as she realized what she was going to tell him. These were Kikyo's last words. 'This is going to be harder then I thought.'

She started fidgeting her hands in order to try to calm down. It wasn't working. Then, she felt the warmth of his hand settle over both of hers and give them a sympathetic squeeze. Inuyasha knew how hard it was for her to speak of Kikyo and his relationship, even though _their_ relationship was nowhere near as shaky as it had been over a year and a half ago. He had been good at not always running off to see the dead priestess every time one of her soul-collectors came near, even when Kagome urged him to go.

These thoughts gave her courage. He needed closure almost as much as she did, and Kikyo had given her the means with which to do it.

She cleared her throat; "Kikyo spoke to me about you just before I fired that arrow. She said you deserved someone who could love and trust you completely. She regretted that she had been unable to trust you back then. She felt that dealing with Naraku was her responsibility and personally taking him to Hell was the action she decided to take." She paused, waiting for Inuyasha to react. When he didn't, she continued, "I think she was truly sorry for causing you so much pain after her resurrection and was trying to find a way to apologize." Kagome risked a glance at the hanyou.

Inuyasha was staring at the ground, eyes hidden by his bangs. What he was thinking was anybody's guess. 'Perhaps he's beating himself up for not having saved Kikyo again.'

"Inuyasha." He brought his gaze up to meet hers. The emotions playing across his face surprised Kagome a little. Of course there was sadness and guilt, but not as much as there had been months back just after a newly transformed Naraku had mortally wounded Kikyo. However, the prevalent emotion today was relief. 'Relief for what?' she thought.

Inuyasha spoke, as if answering her mind's question, "I'm glad that she was able to finally find peace. Her heart is now free from her hatred and I can be free from my guilt." He stared up into the branches of the sacred tree at their backs, a minuscule upturning on his lips.

Kagome smiled softly at the hanyou. 'Free from his guilt. Guilt that was holding him back from living his life. Thank you Kikyo.'

"Did she say anything else?" His question startled the girl out of her reverie. His eyes were still tilted to the treetop, but his face was slightly turned towards her. With the sunlight filtering through the leaves and highlighting his silver hair and golden eyes, Kagome thought he had never looked more beautiful than right now. She blushed pink as the rest of Kikyo's words returned to the forefront of her mind. 'She practically shoved him at me. But there's no way I can tell him that. He'll think I'm making it up.'

"Kagome?" Inuyasha was now peering curiously at her, which only made the poor girl blush even more. Before the hanyou could ask her what was wrong, she stuttered out a response.

"The o-only other thing she m-metioned, was that I was her reincarnation and that through me, you would have her." When she finished, Kagome buried her face in her hands and desperately prayed for the earth to swallow her. 'Okay, that wasn't exactly what she said, but it's close enough that he won't think I'm leading him on.'

A hand on her shoulder brought Kagome's head back up to meet Inuyasha's eyes. Gentle amusement flooded his face as he clasped her face between his hands. With wide eyes, Kagome held her breath as he leaned in. Her eyelids fluttered shut when he was bare centimeters from her lips.

"Liar."

"Wh-what?"

"I said, liar."

Kagome's eyes flew open and settled the glare of her life on Inuyasha. "I am _not_ a liar."

The damn inu-hanyou had the gall to smirk at her. "Yes, you are."

Well, at least he had the good sense to look scared when Kagome's aura flared around her like fire. "Okay, maybe liar was harsh. But you have to admit that you left something out."

As quickly as her anger had flamed, it was doused. "Why do you think that?"

"I know both of you. You would never tell me something that made her look bad or you better by comparison. And Kikyo knew that my feelings towards you were different from the ones I had for her fifty years ago. But that's not important right now." Inuyasha rolled to his feet and stepped away from the Goshinboku. "The question now is what do we do with the Jewel?"

Kagome's mind and heart had stopped working properly after Inuyasha had said 'feelings towards you'. 'Does he mean what I think he means? Oh please let it be that.' Her brain jumpstarted into order at the 'not important' line, while her heart kept beating a tattoo in her chest. He had asked her a question after that lovely revelation and he expected an answer?

"Kagome?"

Her head snapped up for the third time that day and her neck was starting to hurt. 'Oh, well. A hot bath will cure that.'

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. What did you say?"

"I asked what we were going to do with the Shikon no Tama?"

Kagome slapped her forehead, which managed to get her brain rearranged into working order. "I forgot about that. You kinda threw me for a loop back there." 'There's that damn smirk again. One of this days I'm going to wipe it off his face.' She clambered to her feet and started towards the hanyou. Upon reaching him, she removed the necklace that the Jewel hung from. "Here," She said, as she placed the necklace over his head, "I want you to have it and make any wish you want."

Inuyasha lifted the Jewel to his eye. "Any wish? Even full youkai?"

Kagome frowned at his query, "Yes, Inuyasha. Although, I thought you were happy as you are now. If being a full youkai is what it takes for you to be happy, then go ahead."

He just stared back and forth between the Jewel and the miko. Comprehension dawned on his face, right before he crushed her in an embrace. She had no idea what he was thinking until he whispered in her ear, "Thank you for trusting me. I'll make you proud of my wish."

Kagome smiled as she returned his hug with one of her own. 'I know you will, Inuyasha'


	4. Surprise, Surprise

A/N: I just want to thank everyone who's read this story since I put it up since _yesterday_! I love you all (sniff sniff). And thank you, those who reviewed. I truly appreciate it

Remember all, Inuyasha may be Rumiko Takahashi's now, but I plan to fix her will so that I will inherit those dog-ears when she passes (knock on wood).

Please review or e-mail with questions, comments, etc. I really don't mind.

His Wish

Chapter 12

Surprise, Surprise

Two months later…

Kagome paced back and forth in between her bed and desk. 'Two months. It's been two months since Inuyasha sent me back home.' She paused in her anxious trek across the floor. 'He'd better come through that well sometime soon or I'll… I'll…'

Turning to stare out into the darkness past her window, Kagome wondered what exactly she would do to the hanyou if, no, when she saw him again. 'I'll probably hug the living daylights out of him, then sit him into oblivion.' But it was sort of hard to make any such plans, when she had no idea what Inuyasha was doing.

Two months earlier, just after she had given him the Jewel, Inuyasha had asked Kagome to go back to her time so he could think clearly about his wish. He had said he wanted to surprise her for her birthday.

'Which is tomorrow, by the way. To think, I'm turning seventeen.' She sighed, 'I do wish that our quest could have lasted forever. Of course, without the evil uber-villain flitting around causing mass destruction and mayhem.'

Kagome flopped down on her bed. Standing and pacing just wasn't cutting it anymore. A knot of worry, which had been with her ever since she came home, wormed its way to the front of her mind. 'What if Inuyasha doesn't come back for me? What if he really wished to be a full demon? What if…ARRGGHHH! Stop it, girl! You're just going to make yourself sick.' She rolled over onto her stomach, scrunching her pillow under her chest so she could stare at the wall.

'Hey. There's that hole where Inuyasha accidentally shoved Tetsusaiga. And that's where he…STOP. Must. Not. Think. Of Dog-boy. Forbidden topic for the rest of the day.' She burrowed into her blankets and pillows, shoving all thoughts of a certain silver-haired, dog-eared love of her life to the back of her mind. 'Wonder what Mama has planned for my birthday' was her last coherent thought before she descended into sleep.

* * *

The next day at school was a little odd for Kagome. It had been a couple years since she'd spent her birthday with her school friends, or in the modern age at all. Her fifteenth birthday was when she fell through the old well and landed in the Sengoku Jidai. Meeting a rude inu-hanyou had been her present and going home her only wish. 

Her sixteenth birthday had passed in such a dramatic way, she hadn't even known it _was_ her birthday until later. The group had been accosted by _yet_ another of Naraku's minions (didn't he have enough by now?), and the battle had taken quite a lot out of everyone. The next two days had been spent healing random wounds and bruised egos. Kagome had gone home to fetch more medicine, bandages, and psychology books-on-tape only to be shocked when her mother wished her a belated happy birthday.

'Now this year has rolled around. Wonder if anything exciting will happen? Didn't Inuyasha say… no, bad Kagome. No thinking of him, remember?'

A loud chime rang through the building, telling all students and faculty that it was time for the next class to start. Unfortunately for Kagome, she was still half a building and two flights of stairs away from her class. Cursing mildly under her breath, she made her way as quickly and stealthily as she could, hoping against hope to not run into a teacher.

She was coming up to the last corner before the home stretch, when she heard a heated argument coming from just around the bend. 'Just my luck that the new transfer student would be getting in trouble here and now.' Her gossip-riddled friends had informed her earlier of the new, strange-looking student. 'He can't be too freaky-looking. I've seen the best of the best in that field. I don't think much could faze me now.'

The disagreement, or argument more like, was steadily growing in pitch. The main topic seemed to be the dress code. Or, more specifically, the hair code. Most students were required to maintain a dignified 'do at all times, and very rarely were exceptions made. It was especially tough on the male students. No long hair, no strange colors, and no freaky styles. Save for the length, the same applied to the girls, but most of the faculty was lenient with the hair dye when it came to females.

Apparently the new transfer, Tai-something or other, had broken the first two no-nos of hair policies. He was also receiving a lecture from one of the strictest teachers in the whole school.

'Give the kid credit for a backbone, though,' Kagome thought, as the two around the corner continued to bicker. She paused and listened a little more closely to the actual words being said.

"Taisho, at this school, we pride ourselves on, not only our students' academic performance, but also on the image they portray to society as a whole. You, with your hair, are a disgrace to your school, your fellow students, and your family."

'Yamada-sensei at his best,' Kagome sneered, waiting for Taisho's answer. It was a bit in coming, as if he was contemplating how to best deal with the old blowhard. When he finally spoke, Kagome almost fell over from straining to hear.

"Sir, I would like to apologize for any disrespect my personal style has inflicted. I assure you it is only temporary."

"Temporary?" Yamada scoffed. "How can such blatant disregard for school policy be temporary?"

Kagome was also wondering the same thing, while commenting to herself that there was no way she was getting to class at this rate. 'His voice is very familiar. If he weren't so polite, I would almost guess it was… Grrr. Not thinking of that.'

Taisho was explaining his answer already, but since she had been talking to herself, ('Bad habit, Kagome.') she only caught the tail end.

"…wouldn't recognize me, if I cut or dyed my hair anytime soon. I hope to appease school policy by next week however."

'_Who_ wouldn't recognize him? Gah, I just had to talk to myself, didn't I? Crap, here comes Yamada-sensei.' Kagome glanced around quickly, spotted a janitor's closet, and dove inside just as Yamada stormed around the corner, apparently having dismissed Taisho. She peeked out of the doorway and, once she was sure he was gone, slipped out of the room and around the corner.

She really hadn't expected him to still be there after Yamada left, but there he was. Taisho was seated against the wall as if he'd been leaning on it earlier and had just slid downwards. His knees were raised, arms folded on top of them, face buried. Kagome couldn't see much else other than his basic school uniform through the thick mass of hair swirled around him.

'No wonder Yamada-sensei was mad. Taisho-san's hair would rival most _female_ models I've seen.'

Taisho's hair was indeed long, so long in fact that it pooled impressively on the ground where he sat. Kagome had an insane urge to reach out to run her fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it looked. However, she reined in her urges as she studied the other factor that made his hair so special.

It was platinum blond. Not pale yellow, but almost pure white platinum blond. 'It looks like Inu-… bad girl.' Now Kagome was curious beyond all belief. She had to see his face, if only to convince herself that she wasn't delusional. She took a step, then another, and finally a third. She knelt by the boy, who seemed so familiar, yet couldn't possibly be. She slowly reached out her hand, pausing for only a second, before gently touching his shoulder.

Taisho nearly jumped out of skin, causing Kagome to do the same. Embarrassed, she turned her face away and stammered out, "A-are y-you alright, Taisho-san?" When no answer was forthcoming, she convinced herself that the world _wouldn't _end if she met this boy's eyes. Slowly tilting her head up and front-wards, Kagome gazed into hazel eyes.

These were no ordinary hazel eyes. This hazel had no green in it at all. It was almost a pure amber shade. Absolutely beautiful and unique to anyone who had never seen the color before. But this color only made Kagome burst into tears. Sobbing uncontrollably, she lurched to her feet and began the process of getting the hell out of Dodge. She was so absorbed in escaping from the Inuyasha wanna-be, that she didn't notice when he called her name or began following her.

"Kagome."

No answer.

"Kagome!"

No answer, just a shake of the head.

"OI, WENCH!"

Kagome froze. No one else yelled at her like that. 'But it can't be. What's he doing here and in a school uniform?'

Taisho, or whoever he was, caught up with the distraught girl. He grabbed her shoulders, yanked her to face him, and pulled her into a crushing embrace. Kagome could do nothing but stand there, as her mind slowly unkinked its self from around her denial. Soft words were being whispered in her ear and she had to focus all of her attention just to comprehend.

"Gods, Kagome, I've missed you. Not being able to see or fight with you the past two months has been hell. But it was all necessary. I told you I'd make you proud of my wish."

Something finally clicked into place, and Kagome's brain could process information again. "I-Inuyasha?"

He lifted his head at the sound of his name being called, andInuyasha stared down into the eyes of the girl he loved. He could admit it now. He had cared for her for so long, but he'd never let himself go this far. But now, with Naraku's death and Kikyou's permission, Inuyasha was free to have his heart captured. And the one who caught it was this mere slip of a girl, his old love's reincarnation, but nothing like Kikyou, save in partial appearance. For that he was grateful. Kikyou had been a wonderful woman and had begun the opening of his heart, but Kagome had helped him to heal and trust and regain his humanity, allin such a short time. Without Kagome, Inuyasha shuddered to think where he would be now.

These thoughts raced through his mind in seconds, all while he stared into the eyes of his Kagome. He sighed a breath of relief, placed his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes, content for the moment.

Kagome, however, was not content. She was mad. And embarrassed. And did she mention mad? Here was Inuyasha, after two months, with no explanation, just an 'I told you so' and nothing to actually show for it. When his forehead rested on hers, her eyes shut for a brief moment and she took a deep breath. Stepping out of range of flying body parts, Kagome let him have it.

"Osuwari, osuwari, osuwari…" She screamed the 'word', putting all of her rage, depression, and heartsickness behind each syllable. She lost count of how many times she 'sat' him, but it was close to one for each day that Inuyasha'd been gone and caused her emotional turmoil. The sound of his body impacting the school's tile floor was almost disgustingly satisfying. She could barely contain her laughter when the second to last 'sit' caused the floor to crack and the last sent the inu-hanyou (at least she thought he was still a hanyou) through the floor entirely. She didn't care that every classroom door on the third and second floors were flung open or that every student and teacher was staring in awe at either one of the two teens (one unconscious) or the giant person-shaped hole in the floor/ceiling. However, Kagome did decide that her permanent record would be better off if she disappeared for the rest of the day. 'Let Inuyasha handle it. If he still wants to talk to me later he knows where to find me.' And with that thought, she strode off into the sunset, or rather, towards the Sunset Shrine.


	5. Unexpected Delays

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry it took me so long. This chapter was giving me alot of trouble. I think it turned out alright in the end though (crosses fingers).

Quick note: Whenever you see something in parentheses with astrixes (something), this is just something **I** thought and put in. All other parentheses (something) are in the story. I have no idea if i spelled those long words correctly. Eeps. ;

Reminder: Please review or e-mail me with any questions, comments, etc. I love hearing from people.

Remember: My ownership of Inuyasha has no basis in real life. So there.

Chapter 5

Unexpected Delays

When Inuyasha finally regained consciousness, he quickly realized one thing: he was in pain. 'Damn wench. 'Sit'-ting me so many times. What did I do wrong?'

But of course he knew what he'd done. He had practically thrown her down the well, without a way to get back, and went gallivanting off for two months. Well, it hadn't really been 'gallivanting', but Inuyasha was willing to bet good money that was how Kagome would see it.

What he had _actually _done was make preparations for his wish. His plan was to find a way to bring everyone, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou, to Kagome's time. Of course, Kirara and Kohaku were welcome to come as well. And for that, he would need someone on the other side of the well. So Inuyasha implemented his master plan. Phase One: Find Sesshoumaru.

The trip its self was pleasant enough, but tracking down his brother proved to be almost impossible. It was sheer luck that Inuyasha happened to catch the scent of Rin and Jaken. The toad was not happy to see the hanyou and almost exploded when asked where 'that bastard of a brother' was. Thankfully, Sesshoumaru appeared soon enough, and after a few regulatory insults and threats, Inuyasha made his proposition.

He was surprised when his brother voiced that the idea had some merit. He was further bowled over when Sesshoumaru freely offered his assistance. When asked why he was being so helpful, Sesshoumaru's response was, "The girl, Kagome, has show courage, compassion, and great patience towards all living things. For this alone, she has earned my respect. My assistance, she earned through her ability to put _you_ in your proper place with but a single word."

Inuyasha had wanted to slice his brother in two for that comment, but he also had to admit that Sesshoumaru had a point. Because of Kagome, he was a better demon, a better human, and a better hanyou. Because of Kagome, he had learned to accept all aspects of himself, and to no longer think that this one was weaker or this one was stronger, but as a whole, each side was both weak and strong in their own fashions. Because of Kagome, he had learned that everyone deserves a fair chance in the beginning. He would never just suddenly trust random strangers he just met. No, that would make him stupid, but he would give them an opportunity to prove themselves trustworthy. Because of Kagome, Inuyasha now had a reason to live his life.

After detailing Sesshoumaru's role in the future, Inuyasha made his way back to Kaede's village. The old hag wouldn't be joining the expedition, due to the fact that the village needed her and that she was just a _little_ too old to be starting over in a new place and time. Shippou, of course, was delighted at the chance to visit Kagome's world. When it was explained that the 'visit' was permanent, the kit merely asked if he would be staying with Kagome. Receiving an affirmation, Shippou simply grinned and started making up songs about living with Kagome.

Phase Two: Convince Sango and Miroku. Both were accustomed to items from Kagome's time, but neither was enthusiastic about uprooting entirely. Luckily, Inuyasha really only had to persuade Sango that the wish was a good idea for the houshi to agree as well. The hanyou's tactic involved psychiatrists, which Kagome had explained to him one night after a rather nasty encounter with Kohaku. Her mind at peace with thoughts that the move to the future would be better for _Kohaku_, Sango agreed. As expected, when enlightened of the slayer's change of mind, Miroku was quick to jump at the chance as well.

With all the people in place, all that was needed now was the Shikon Jewel. Inuyasha kept it with him at all times, trying to think only the purest thoughts (snorts with laughter) he could. It was a little difficult, especially when dealing with Sesshoumaru, but he managed and the Jewel had remained pure. On the agreed day, one week after Kagome had been sent home, Inuyasha, Sango, Shippou, Miroku, Kohaku, and Kirara all arrived at the Goshinboku to meet Sesshoumaru and put Phase Three: Travel Through Time into motion. Once reassured by Sesshoumaru that all would be taken care of for their arrival, Inuyasha and company, save Sesshoumaru, gathered around the Shikon Jewel.

Inuyasha had taken every precaution and had written out exactly what he was planning to ask the Jewel. Sango, Miroku, and even Kaede had each gone over the wish with a fine-toothed comb in search of any flaws. Finally, after every last detail and every possible loophole was covered and plugged, Inuyasha was confident enough to proceed. Taking the Jewel in hand, Inuyasha cleared his throat and spoke his wish.

No one was entirely sure how the jewel would grant the wish, but the blinding flash of pinkish light wasn't really a surprise. Everyone, Sesshoumaru included, had to cover their eyes from the glare. There were no words spoken, only an immense feeling of acceptance pulsing through the light. Gradually, the brightness began to fade and Inuyasha could vaguely see the construct surrounding the well. A quick check established that all persons (and firecats) were present and Inuyasha sighed in relief. They'd made it.

* * *

"Is he okay? Do you think we should call a doctor?" 

"What happened to Higurashi-san? She was standing over there just a moment ago."

'Wait. She left?' Inuyasha's brain was still completely scrambled from all the 'osuwari'

commands Kagome had unleashed, but he managed to process that last statement fairly quick. He groaned loudly, as he attempted to remove himself from the crevice he was currently lying in. He made it to a kneeling position before having to stop and let his youkai blood diminish his headache. 'No, not headache. Major explosion in brain is more like it.'

The crowd of chattering students and faculty was beginning to get on his nerves. 'Time to move away from these idiots and go find Kagome.'

Inuyasha's eyes and mind finally stopped spinning in anime-esque swirls and he was able to stand. Choosing to ignore all people and property damage around him, Inuyasha made his way down to the first floor and out the front doors. Once outside, he leapt to the top of the building so he could remove his disguise.

'I'm actually really glad I asked Sesshoumaru to help. Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this new toy.' Inuyasha smirked down at the watch adorning his wrist. It had a simple black band and was rimmed in silver. Little black numbers dotted the face as the second hand ticked rhythmically. But the watch's basic design was not what Inuyasha liked about the device. What he liked was the illusion spell that was cast into the mechanics. The spell allowed the wearer to set what he wanted his appearance to be and, as long as the battery worked or the watch was in contact with skin, take on that appearance. Sesshoumaru had given him this watch the first day he and everyone else had arrived. Shippou also received one, although his was a little more colorful.

Slipping off the device, Inuyasha felt the magic surrounding him like a second skin fade away. Gone was the polite, platinum blond, hazel-eyed human youth of modern day Tokyo. In his stead was a surly, silver-haired, golden-eyed hanyou from five hundred years in the past. Inuyasha blinked his eyes in the bright sunlight, for the spell also dulled his demonic senses, making it easier for him to live in the human world. Air and noise pollution were offensive to his keen nose and ears. Taking a deep breath of toxic city air, the hanyou couldn't help but feel relieved as he flopped down on the roof of the school and proceeded to lie on his back staring at the blue sky.

True, the wide-open spaces of his native environment had changed drastically since the Sengoku Jidai. However, Inuyasha wasn't homesick. At least, not anymore. When his friends and he had first arrived in the future seven weeks ago, every single one of them had felt an astute pang of separation anxiety. The feelings hadn't lasted long; a couple days at most, due to the fact that none of them really had much to call home or family, save for their rag-taggle group.

Miroku's father had died when he was young and Mushin was better at being a drunken letch of a monk then a father figure. Sango only needed Kohaku and, since her family and village had been avenged, she had no real ties to the abandoned slayer fortress. Shippou had viewed Kagome and Inuyasha as his surrogate parents shortly after revenge had been carried out on his father's murderers, so he would follow them to the ends of the earth. As for Inuyasha… Inuyasha had decided long ago that Kagome was home, hearth, and family to him.

Inuyasha sighed. 'Two months. It's been two months since the last time I held her, smelled her, argued with her. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed her 'til today.' He pushed himself into a sitting position, bracing his weight on his hands behind him. 'The last seven weeks have been hell.'

He chuckled as he thought back to Sango and Miroku's first experience with a car. Sesshoumaru had met the group at the Higurashi Shrine, as he and Inuyasha had agreed. He had been living among humans for the last five hundred years and was going to be the one to help the others adjust to modern life. Inuyasha already had a firm grasp on the concept, but hey, every little bit helps.

Since they had left the well house, the older slayer and the houshi had been jumping at every unfamiliar sound. Inuyasha had already heard all these noises before so nothing was surprising him. Shippou, Kirara, and, amazingly enough, Kohaku were taking all the new sights and sounds in stride. Inuyasha supposed that being the "brainless" minion of a shape-shifting, power-mongering bastard of the scum of the earth was enough to desensitize _any_one to the most bizarre occurrences, even is said minion couldn't remember a dang thing. At the bottom of the main shrine stairs was Sesshoumaru's limo. According to Kagome, only very rich people could afford such vehicles, so evidently Sesshoumaru had done very well for himself the past five centuries.

Seeing his two friends startling at the sight of such a large "monstrosity", as Miroku dubbed the limo, was funny in and of its self. Further hilarity ensued when Sesshoumaru briefly explained the use of the "monstrosity". The two humans, who had collapsed on the stairs from shock, turned a deathly pale at the thought of entering such an obviously dangerous contraption. Even Inuyasha paled slightly, for he had never been _inside_ one of these vee-ickles before.

Many threats and much coaxing later, all six (plus firecat) of the limo's occupants were calmer and beginning to slowly accept their new surroundings. As the chauffer (otherwise known as Jaken) drove into downtown Tokyo, Sesshoumaru began to outline how things were going to be. He had leased the penthouse next to his own for the friends to live in and had arranged for a tutor of sorts to come and help all of them to understand their new lives. A psychiatrist, specializing in repressed memories, would be on-call for Kohaku's benefit. Shippou would start elementary school the coming fall, while Sango would attend the local high school with Kagome, giving both of them plenty of time to prepare. Sesshoumaru had already decided that Miroku should come and work for him at his Fortune500 Company, InuWest, Inc., as a real estate consultant. In other words, if a piece of land Sesshoumaru wanted to buy had a curse or was haunted, Miroku would go in and solve the problem. He was to be paid a healthy retainer's fee and work was surprisingly abundant, especially if his new boss allowed him to work for other companies.

Inuyasha also planned to go to Kagome's high school, but starting specifically on the girl's birthday. He chose this date, no earlier and no later, for two reasons. One, no matter how badly he wanted to see her, Inuyasha still had a lot to learn about the modern age. This deadline was a little extreme, but he figured if he tried really hard, he'd be ready. And two, he _had_ said he wanted to surprise her for her birthday. He didn't want to ruin his "present" by showing himself to soon.

'Hm,' Inuyasha frowned. 'Kagome did seem more upset than happy to see me.' He promptly smacked himself in the head. 'Well, duh. I'd be mad too, if I was her.' Inuyasha rotated his left shoulder, trying to get the kinks out of his muscles caused by placing too much weight on his arms and multiple sits. After switching and relaxing his other shoulder, he stood and arched backwards, cracking his lower to mid-spinal vertebrae. He than twisted his neck side to side, receiving a couple of tiny pops. A short jog in place and shaking his hands out finished up Inuyasha's stretches. He was now primed and ready to face Kagome's Wrath.

Crossing his fingers, he quickly whispered, "Here's hoping she's calmed down enough." With that final statement, Inuyasha bounded off the roof and towards his doom, er, the shrine.


	6. A Mother Always Knows

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter already. You know, I'm just gonna stop trying to predict when this story will end. It'll end when it ends. But here's hoping you enjoy.

Remember: I have a seeexy pic on Inuyasha on my desktop (courtesy of kristins studio. com must remove spaces. stupid, evil, grumbles off into silence. She's a great artist, check her out!), but ownership of the real thing is still with Takahashi-sama. (clicks off page and drools over shirtless Inu on desktop)

Reminder: Any questions, comments, etc., please review or e-mail me. I love to hear what you guys think (drags out fishing wire and hooks and prepares to fish ;P). Love ya.

Chapter 6

A Mother Always Knows

Kagome came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs leading up to her home. As she stared dully up at the two hundred or so steps, her mind roamed the entire continent of Asia.

'Why do shrines always have so many stairs?' she idly wondered as her mind returned to the islands of Japan. 'Is it a test of faith or just some sadistic jerk's idea of a joke?' She sighed heavily and squatted down on the bottom step, 'I'd laugh at the joke if I didn't have to climb these damn stairs everyday.'

Kagome glanced up and down the street in search of something. She didn't know what she was looking for. 'Maybe it's more of a who than a what.'

She shook her head violently, her hair forming a brief halo as it flew. She had already spent too much agonizing and valuable time on that… that… THAT. Ever since she'd fallen down the well into the Sengoku Jidai and released that jerk of a hanyou, Kagome'd spent almost every moment of her waking hours either talking, thinking, or fantasizing about that idiot. When she wasn't doing any of those, she was worrying. About him in battle, about his self-esteem issues, about him and Kikyo.

Well, Kikyo was gone now. Not that Kagome resented the priestess or anything. Of course not. Okay, maybe a little, but Kagome did have a deep respect for the pain and suffering Kikyo had endured, both in her original life and her resurrected one. The miko was so much more capable than Kagome and the schoolgirl wasn't afraid to admit it. Kikyo knew oodles of stuff about being a miko and a Jewel protector, while Kagome usually flew by the seat of her pants on both accounts.

'Kikyo had so much going for her before she died. She had Inuyasha and a chance to led a normal life.' Then that son of a monkey (no pun intended) Naraku showed up and ruined everything. Kagome clenched her hand tightly into a fist. Every time she thought about how Naraku had tricked both miko and hanyou, it made her blood boil. It was this anger that allowed her the strength to incapacitate that evil incarnate monkey the first time.

It appeared to the schoolgirl that her powers increased drastically whenever she was feeling an intense emotion. Fear, anger, jealousy (although that was more Inuyasha's style), even love occasionally. The stronger the emotion was felt, the stronger her powers became.

Of course this only pertained to her defensive and offensive powers. Her other latent abilities, such as purifying the Shikon no Tama, came to her naturally. No activation needed, just touch and go. This 'automatic purification' was what had impressed Miroku the first time they'd met.

Kagome sighed. 'God, I miss the others. Miroku-sama and Sango-chan with their bickering. Shippou-chan with his cute little tricks. Kaede-baachan with all her wisdom. Heck, I even miss Kouga-kun.'

She knew she was getting desperate for her friends when she found herself wishing for the company of the wolf demon. 'I'm glad he finally gave up on making me "his woman" and got engaged to Ayame-chan. She'll be a much better wife for him.'

About five months ago, three months before Kagome left the Sengoku Jidai, Kouga had made a final social call. He announced that, for the sake of his tribe, he would marry Ayame, the cute and fiery wolf demoness Kagome had met several months back. His announcement received a cheer from Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, with Kagome joining in silently since Kouga still had a grip on both of her hands. Inuyasha had butted in, forcing the wolf to relinquish his hold, and congratulated Kouga in his own special way. He swung Tetsusaiga at the wolf's head. Kouga managed to avoid the blade, than shot off into the forest, shouting a warning to 'protect Kagome at all costs or suffer my wrath'.

'After that, Kouga-kun only showed up for battles with Naraku and sometimes not even than.' Kagome couldn't help wondering how the two wolf demons were faring now that Naraku was dead.

Her train of thought was interrupted as a city bus trundled up to the stop just in front of the shrine. It squeaked its brakes in protest at the incessant stop-and-go action it was put through every day. Kagome, since she was leaning against the wall next to the stairs, couldn't see the front of the bus and who might have gotten off or on. Not that she really cared or anything. She watched as the driver stepped on the gas and the last ten feet of the vehicle she could see disappeared from view.

There were almost no other cars on the road at this time of day, because she had left school property right before second period. It was now about noon, and due to the fact that Kagome had stopped by her favorite ice cream parlor (ah, the treat that cures everything), she had only been sitting and brooding for about an hour. 'God, I'm turning into Inuyasha with all this wallowing in self-pity crap,' she moaned to herself, closing her eyes and cradling her forehead in her hands.

"Kagome?"

The schoolgirl's head snapped up so fast, her neck popped. Cringing and massaging the now tender muscles, Kagome stared at her mother.

Mama looked the same as she always had, at least to Kagome. Wavy, shoulder-length, black hair pulled up into a neat style of bun at the base of her neck. Brown eyes twinkling with warmth and love. An expression of confusion marred the normally pleasant countenance. A cardigan and blouse paired with a knee-length skirt covered by an apron along with hose and sensible shoes completed the motherly picture. Mama was carrying a couple of canvas bags, filled with groceries judging by the stalks of green onions Kagome could see poking out of one of the bags. 'She must have just finished her shopping for dinner tonight.'

"Kagome, what are you doing sitting here? Did something happen at school?"

Kagome snorted softly, before answering, "Yeah, Mama. Something happened."

Mama stepped over and sat next to her daughter, putting an arm around the girl. Kagome turned her head away so her mother wouldn't see the tears brimming, threatening to spill over and cause havoc. But it did no good to hide her tears from her mother. Mama was already pulling a handkerchief out of her apron pocket and passing it to Kagome. Kagome made a small noise of gratitude and Mama squeezed her shoulder affectionately.

It was a while before either of them spoke, Mama content to hold and Kagome content to be held. Her mother was the first to break the silence.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Kagome released a shaky breath. 'All or nothing, right? That's how it should be in life.' So she began to recount the events of the day.

Mama listened calmly and patiently whilst her daughter relived her 'reunion' with the dog-eared hanyou-boy.

"…and he just showed up. Not a word of what he's been doing or how the others are. Just an 'I told you so'. He didn't even tell me what his wish had been." Kagome had reached the end of the story a bit ago, but was still recanting random pieces. Her emotions had been steadily progressing throughout the entire telling as well. They went from mildly depressed to annoyed to downright pissed as all hell. She had also ceased sitting and was currently pacing back and forth in front of her mother, who could only follow her movements and let her daughter rant herself dry.

After five minutes or so, Kagome ran out of steam and sank energy-less onto the steps once more. Glancing up her mother's slightly amused and calculating expression, Kagome wondered out loud what Mama was thinking.

Mama posed thoughtfully and Kagome recognized the gesture as something _she_ did all the time. 'Guess I know where I got it from.' She continued to gaze at her mother, waiting for the enlightening advice she just knew would be coming.

"Well," Mama started, "it's obvious to me that he has made a wish that he thinks will make both you and he happy, and something didn't turn out right for him to take so long to contact you."

Kagome's jaw dropped. That was it? That was the awe-inspiring commentary that would make everything better?

"However," Kagome's mouth clicked shut at her mother's continued speech. "However, it's also obvious that you didn't give him time to explain himself. He must have had a good reason to wait two months. Don't give me that look." The schoolgirl was pulling an exaggerated disbelieving face and Mama was waggling a scolding finger in front of her eyes, forcing them to cross.

"Well, Mama, what reason do you think Inuyasha could possibly have for making me wait?" Kagome crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. Mama just sighed.

"Kagome, I know this boy. He's stayed at the house before, whether you've been at school or staying the night. I've seen how he acts when you're not around. He's like a lost puppy wondering why his mistress has left him all alone. He's lonely without you for company. Souta, Grandpa, and I can't ease his fears of rejection and loss. Only you can." Here Mama paused, so as to let what she had said sink into her daughter's brain. After a short moment, Kagome slowly dropped her arms from her chest and Mama took this as a sign to continue. "I have absolutely no idea what the reason for his absence these last eight weeks may be, but I do know this. It is an excellent reason, for he was willing to put himself through two months of separation from you in order to come back to you."

Mama placed a gentle hand on the shell-shocked girl's shoulder, earning her attention. "Now, I really must go and put these groceries away before the ice cream melts completely." That said, Mama stood, grabbed her bags, and began climbing up to their home.

Kagome sat dumbstruck. That was the closest to lecture she had ever gotten from her mother in regards to Inuyasha. She could remember every time she had confided in Mama about her love for the hanyou, her anger over the whole Naraku situation, her guilt for wishing Kikyo back to the grave. Mama had always given her reassurances that her emotional responses were normal and nothing to be worried about. But this time… this time her mother had practically scolded her for not trusting Inuyasha and jumping the proverbial gun.

'Though, she is right,' Kagome admitted to herself. 'I _didn't_ allow him to explain. I just "Osuwari"-ed him to Kingdom Come and didn't even stop to think.' She groaned, once again burying her head into her hands. 'What have I done? He's probably so mad right now. Plus I don't even know where he's at.'

She raised her head up and planted a curled hand under chin while resting her elbow on top of her knee. 'I guess I can try tracking him down through the school directory. I hope he's actually going to my school and didn't just steal a uniform.' Kagome grinned to herself as she mentally reviewed Inuyasha's appearance from earlier. 'I never knew he could look so hot in modern clothes.' She blushed. 'Then again, I _have_ seen him naked.'

That mental image was enough to knock Kagome for a loop for a few minutes. Finally, after blushing like a tomato and fanning her hands in an effort to cool down, she managed to gather what little wits she had remaining following that particular fantasy and finish her prior train of thought.

'I can see why Yuka-chan, Eri-chan, and Ayumi-chan were so weirded out by his appearance. It's not every day you come across Japanese boys with blond hair and those color of eyes.' She paused. 'Come to think of it, I don't even know if he's still a hanyou or if he turned human. He didn't have his dog-ears,' she winced at the thought of never seeing those cute little fuzzy triangles ever again, 'but then again, he didn't look like he usually does on the new moon.' Kagome stopped once again, this time to look at her watch.

"HOLY CRAP!" she screamed loud enough to be heard the next prefecture over. "It's already one-thirty! If I want to check the student directory, I'll have to leave now." A quick glance down at her school uniform showed that it was no longer suitable for wear today. 'But first, I have got to change.'

Without another thought or worry, save for what to wear and what to say when she got to the school's office (she _had_ ditched most of the school day), Kagome scampered up the shrine steps, disregarding her aching leg muscles and burning lungs in hopes of putting things to right between her and Inuyasha


	7. How I Do Love Thee

A/N: Hi people! I'm back with more fluff. I hope this chapter turned out well. I was sort of exhausted when I wrote it. Enjoy!

Remember: Inuyasha would be suffering from excessive glompage if he were mine.

Reminder: Any questions, comments, etc., please send in reviews or e-mail.

Chapter 7

How I Do Love Thee

Frantically, Kagome rushed into her house, up the stairs, and into her room. She grabbed the first pair of jeans she laid her eyes on, not really caring if they were washed or not. Luckily for her, her mother had just finished all the family's laundry not two hours earlier. Kagome flung open her top dresser drawer and removed a dark blue tee shirt from the pile. Pulling the garment over her head, she didn't notice what the shirt said until she was leaving the room. Kagome was reaching for the doorknob when her reflection in the mirror on the back of the door caught her eye.

The picture of a cartoon St. Bernard wearing sunglasses and looking tough adorned the front. The appliqué wasn't bad, but it was the words over the picture that made Kagome pause. 'Big Dog Lover?' she groaned mentally. 'Why not staple a "Miss Lonely Hearts" personal ad to my forehead while I'm at it.' A glance at her watch told Kagome that she had no time to search for a different shirt if she wanted to make it to the school office before it closed.

She scurried out of her room and back down the stairs. A quick stop at the kitchen to let her mom know where she was going, and then she was out the front door. She had almost passed the Goshinboku when a voice startled her out of her single-mindedness.

"You know, that wasn't the nicest way to greet someone who'd crossed time and space to see you."

She wasn't really surprised that he had come here. Shocked by how soon, yes, but not surprised. Slowly, Kagome turned to face the owner of the voice. She covertly crossed her fingers behind her back.

There he was. Just like she remembered. Leaning against the sacred tree like he owned it. Arms crossed over his chest in almost stubborn fashion. Long, claw-like nails tapped his upper arm impatiently. His face set in a scowl. Silver-white hair hanging below his waist with wild bangs just barely out of his golden-amber eyes. And the most adorable dog-ears to be found anywhere and anytime on earth.

Kagome could only stand and stare. She had no words for how glad she was. First, that he was here at all, and second, that he hadn't changed himself. The silence between the two teenagers grew into long minutes, with both of them just studying the other.

'It's so weird to see him in a school uniform,' Kagome thought. 'Not that I mind, of course.' Since she had been too emotional at school to properly notice, she took the time now to check him out.

The navy blue of the uniform suited him well. Not as complimentary as his usual red ensemble, but just as defining. The red of the fire-rat had shown off his startling hair color, but the dark blue made both hair and eyes glow. The white and gold were in stark contrast with the blue and Kagome was ready to melt.

Melting was further encouraged by the cut of the uniform. His normal haori and hakama had been loose and baggy, with drooping sleeves. Very comfortable to be sure, but it had hidden his figure. This new outfit was a tighter fit. Still loose, especially with the top two buttons of the jacket open, but he wasn't swimming in the fabric. She could plainly see how lean he was, and how built. 'And let's not forget that butt.'

Her thoughts were broken in upon. "Are you finished looking me over?" His tone was harsh, but the light tint on his nose and his slightly downcast gaze said something else entirely.

Kagome tried to catch his eyes, so telling and clear, the most beautiful eyes ever. "Inuyasha."

He glanced up and met her stare with one of his own. She could read his eyes like reading a book. There was fear, hope, giddiness, affection, concern, worry. There was something else too, something Kagome was afraid to name in case she was wrong.

"Kagome." Suddenly, he was right in front of her. She hadn't seen him move at all. She didn't know what to say or do, no ideas except to just stand there drinking in the sight and presence of him. 'Maybe I should touch him, just to see if I'm dreaming.'

Almost without her consent, Kagome's hand was already reaching up to stroke Inuyasha's cheek. The soft feel of his warm skin under her fingertips jolted her out of her daze. Loosing an inarticulate sob, she threw both of her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. She felt his arms slid about her waist to hold her weight and to just plain hold her.

"Kagome, I missed you so much," Inuyasha whispered into her hair. Kagome turned her face into his hair and drew in a deep breath. The smell of dirt and, oddly enough, shampoo hit her nose. She couldn't help giggling as she remembered where she had smelled that dirty scent before. 'He smells like Buyo after he's come in from rolling on the ground.'

"Kagome?" he asked, as he bent over so her feet were now on the ground instead of dangling. Then Inuyasha was gently pushing her body back from his, so he could look into her face. That giggle had slightly disturbed him. "Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome pulled back and carefully brushed the tears from her eyes. She didn't know when she'd started crying, but she didn't really care. She giggled again, almost hysterically and with an occasional hiccup. She peeked up at Inuyasha's face and almost melted again at the warm concern that backlit the amber in his eyes. She smiled lightly at the hanyou to show she was all right. At her expression, Inuyasha broke into his own grin and Kagome cleared her throat to give a verbal answer. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. I'm just happy to see you."

He bowed his head down to place his forehead against hers, his smile gradually fading. Closing his eyes, he replied, "Funny, I thought you were angry with me."

Kagome tilted backwards to give him a puzzled look. "Why would you think I was mad at you, Inuyasha?"

He sighed, then slowly reopened his eyes. "All those 'sits' you said earlier at school. You usually only sit me when I am being rude, chasing Shippou, or have made you mad."

The hurt expression on his face was too much. "God, Inuyasha, I'm so sorry. I was so shocked at seeing you at my school that I didn't even think. I just said it." Kagome dropped her gaze to her hands, which she'd brought in between their chests to fidget with. She was only vaguely aware that Inuyasha still had his arms loosely around her waist. "I _was_ upset that you've been gone for so long and it didn't seem you had anything to show for all that time. I overreacted. Badly, too. I'm really, really sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Kagome stopped herself before she said too much. She was waiting so tensely for Inuyasha to push her away, or yell at her, or something along those lines, that she was hardly ready for what he did do.

Inuyasha removed one of his hands from Kagome's hip and used it to lift her chin up. Once her gaze was on his face, he leaned forward until he was, once again, only centimeters from her lips. However, instead of taunting her like last time, Inuyasha gave a half-smile at her look of astonishment, slid his eyes shut, and completed the implied gesture.

Kagome was shocked. He'd done it! He'd actually kissed her! Well it was more like mouth on top of mouth than kissing, but the schoolgirl planned to remedy that. She lightly puckered her lips to return the kiss and to carry on. She had no experience to date, but when you're in high school, everyone knows the basic mechanics. Therefore, Kagome was able to make the moment more intimate than just lips touching. Soon she found herself wanting to be closer to her hanyou, so she replaced her arms about his neck and pulled him closer.

While not really knowing what to expect, but definitely not expecting this, Inuyasha hesitated. But only for a second. With Kagome pulled flush against his body and willing to continue, who was Inuyasha to refuse?

The next few minutes passed quickly enough. Various thoughts ran through both of their heads, most mirroring the others.

'This is amazing.'

'Why didn't I do this sooner?'

'OK, just a little sloppy.' (Referring to open-mouthed kisses)

'I can't believe she just stuck her tongue in my mouth.'

'I can't believe I just stuck my tongue in his mouth. Hey, wait a minute!'

'Ha ha. Got you back.' (Bad Inu!)

'What does this mean for us now?'

This last thought brought Kagome out of her dreamy haze. Pulling back from Inuyasha, who almost let out a whimper at the loss of contact, she cupped his face with her hands. Watching as he blearily opened his eyes, Kagome realized how much she loved this hanyou. 'I don't think my heart can hold anymore, I love him so much.' The best way to make room for something more in something already full is to take some out. And since her heart was full of love and she felt the need to share it, this is exactly what Kagome did.

"Inuyasha."

"Mm?" He was still disoriented from earlier.

"I want to tell you something." Kagome was very proud that her voice hardly trembled.

Inuyasha was naturally curious. What could happen to make this day any better? Or, horrors of horrors, any worse?

Kagome stepped away fully from the hanyou, leaving about two feet between them. She suddenly felt very cold and lonely without Inuyasha's arms around her, even if he was in reaching distance. Folding her arms over her chest, Kagome walked to the bench that was set up behind the Goshinboku. She sat on the cool stone and motioned for Inuyasha to sit down next to her.

Once the hanyou was seated, Kagome continued, "First, I want to say thank you. You've given me the best birthday present ever."

Inuyasha smirked slightly. "What makes you think you got the whole thing?"

"Huh?" Kagome glanced up from staring at her shoes, confusion evident. "What do you mean 'the whole thing'?" Inuyasha just waved the question off and asked for her to resume what she was saying.

She lightly glared at the hanyou out of the corner of her eye, "Alright, you win, but you will explain yourself later." Irritated when he just laughed, Kagome returned to her topic at hand. "As I was saying, thank you for being yourself. Not full demon. Not human. Just Inuyasha." He blushed at the compliment. Kagome smiled. "There's no other way I'd have you. Which leads me to my second point."

Here, she took a deep breath. This would be difficult, not as difficult as it would have been before their little make-out session, but difficult nonetheless. "We've known each other for two years now. About six months after we met, I came to a realization." Another deep breath. "It was after Juroumaru and Kageroumaru and after I saw you with Kikyo." Inuyasha flinched lightly, so Kagome took his hand in hers to show him that he'd been long forgiven. "Anyway, while I was home, wondering if I should just return the shards and forget our whole adventure, I passed under the Goshinboku."

Kagome paused to gather her thoughts. Inuyasha gave her fingers a light squeeze, indicating that he was still there for her. She glanced over at him and smiled, a bit sadly he thought. She turned her eyes back to the sacred tree and forged ahead. "What I came to realize that day so long ago, was that I wanted," she shook her head, "no, I _needed_ to see you again, no matter the pain." She sifted in her seat. "I discovered that, without me noticing, I had fallen-" Pause. "Fallen-" Close eyes and regain composure. "I had fallen i-in l-love with you."

The silence after she'd revealed her best-kept secret (from Inuyasha at any rate) was unbearable. Kagome was afraid to look over at the hanyou or anything. The fact that his hand was now limp in hers said almost too much.

"Really?"

His voice was so soft that Kagome wasn't sure he'd actually said anything. But he had. The now firm grip on her fingers told her that he'd heard her, believed her, and accepted her. She risked a glance over to her companion.

Inuyasha had his head down, his white hair blocking his face from view. There was no telling what the hanyou was thinking, unless one studied his ears. Both of the fuzzy appendages were trained to the girl on the left of him. They seemed to be quivering with either excitement or strain from being so intently focused. Without even thinking, Kagome extricated her hand from Inuyasha's and reached up to pet his ears.

Now Kagome had never owned a dog. But she did have a cat and Buyo loved to have his ears rubbed. He wouldn't allow anyone but Kagome pet his ears. She hoped it was because she gave good ear rubs. Well, she'd find out now.

First, she started at the base of Inuyasha's left ear. She massaged the muscles that connected ear to head. When he visibly relaxed, Kagome switched to the right ear. A few moments of right ear tweakage though and her arm was getting tired. Then she had an idea.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?" He was already out of it.

"Slid to the end of the bench and lay back into my lap." The hanyou was more than willing to comply, if it meant more ear rubs. He scooted to the edge of the bench, turned around, and lay back, his legs dangling off the side. Kagome had switched position as well and was now seated cross-legged, facing Inuyasha's back. When the hanyou lay down, his neck hit perfectly at her crossed ankles. Now back to the tweaking.

Kagome continued the massage, now with both hands, at the base of the ears. Slowly she moved her fingers up to the thinner skin of the ears. She was no longer massaging so much as smoothing the hair back into place. However, exert the right pressure and presto, one very happy kitty, er, hanyou.

After about five minutes, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha's breathing had lengthened and evened out. He was asleep. She smiled tenderly at the snoozing hanyou. She released his ears to stroke his hair and marvel at the boy she was in love with. A year and a half had only strengthened the emotion and Kagome always wondered if anybody else ever felt this strongly. Surely they must or there'd be nothing good in the world.

She sighed. 'At least I finally told him how I basically feel. It's too complicated to explain all at once and even I don't understand it.' She gazed down fondly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Suddenly, something Inuyasha had said earlier came to her. 'He said that I hadn't seen the whole of my present yet. I wonder what he meant by that?' She considered waking him and demanding an explanation, but thought better of it. 'I'll let him sleep a bit longer, then ask him.'

Nodding to herself, Kagome continued playing with the hair and ears of the hanyou in her lap.

* * *

A/N (again): Did you like my fluff? I've never written a scene like that before, so I hope it came out all right. Not too sugary, but not too slapstick (I use the term loosely) either. Let me know. Till next time! 


	8. What the Future Holds

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been busy and inspiration is hard to come by. In other words, the same old excuses. Anyway. This story has become sooo much longer than I thought it would be. So cool how it's just writing its self. I no longer have control over how long it will be. But for the meantime, Enjoy.

Remember: Watching all the episodes and reading all the manga chapters does not make Inuyasha mine. If it did, hoo baby.

Reminder: Questions, comments, etc. please e-mail or review. Love ya much.

**Chapter Eight: What the Future Holds**

Inuyasha was roused from an extremely wonderful dream by the low murmur of voices above him. He wasn't conscious enough to hear what was being said, but he could tell that the speakers were female.

Then it hit him. He hadn't been dreaming. He had really kissed Kagome. And Kagome had really said that she was in love with him. Inuyasha was so overjoyed that he thought his heart would burst.

'She loves me. She loves me for who I am.' These two statements became a mantra in his mind, repeating over and over until Inuyasha had to repress the urge to scream it from the top of the highest tree. 'And I love her.' He grinned to himself, just before he frowned. 'But I haven't told her yet.'

"Kagome, maybe you should wake him up. It's almost dark."

"Hai, Mama."

The voices of Mrs. Higurashi and Kagome were still oblivious to the hanyou's state of consciousness. Inuyasha wasn't surprised though. After all, he was an expert at feigning sleep when it served his purposes. Several incidents involving a certain schoolgirl ogling a certain hanyou when she thought he was asleep came to mind. Not that he was bothered by the attention. Quite the contrary. Inuyasha treasured the moments when Kagome had watched him 'sleep'. It was the only time he felt comfortable with anybody staring at him. Whenever Inuyasha was awake and people gawked, it was usually because they were afraid of him for being half demon, thought he was a disgrace for being half human, or pitied him for being both or neither. But Kagome always made him feel like she was seeing the whole of him, not just the parts.

Inuyasha's musings were interrupted when a gentle hand smelling of wildflowers and warmth caressed his forehead. He made a show of waking up reluctantly, which wasn't too far from the truth. He did not want to move from Kagome's lap. He was comfortable, damn it.

Another stroke of silky skin along his cheek prompted his eyes to flutter open. He blinked a couple of times to readjust his sight to the brightness of the late afternoon. How long had he been asleep? Inuyasha sat up slowly; worried that Kagome had been uncomfortable for any length of time. Rotating his head to look over his own shoulder brought the girl into view.

Kagome was smiling tenderly at him, her mother just a few steps behind her. Mrs. Higurashi had a relieved expression on her face, as if glad to see the hanyou sprawled all over her daughter. 'Then again,' Inuyasha thought amusedly, 'Kagome had to get her match-making skills from somewhere.'

Mrs. Higurashi was the first to break the silence between the three, "I'm happy to see you two made up." She smiled at Inuyasha, "I expect you to stay for dinner and fill us all in as to what's been going on, Inuyasha." Then, without even waiting for a response, Mrs. Higurashi turned on her heel and practically skipped into the house, humming all the way.

Inuyasha just stared after the older woman, wondering if all women acted that childish. Kagome only grinned and shook her head. A moment of silence. Then the tension began to build. There had been none to speak of with Mrs. Higurashi around, but once she was gone, it poured in. Inuyasha cocked his head to the side to get a better view of the schoolgirl beside him.

Kagome was fidgeting with her nails nervously, both of her hands in her lap. Her head was down and her long wavy hair was covering her face. Not that Inuyasha needed to see her face to know that she was beautiful to him. He reached out a hand to run his fingers through the black silk that masqueraded as hair. His touch brought the girl's gaze upward and gold locked with brown, although brown was too common a word. Mahogany. Chestnut. Rosewood. Cedar. Every time Inuyasha met her eyes, he was reminded of his forest. Eyes that reflected the deep earth tones of nature. Solid, steady, always under foot, but always there. Reliable, nurturing, nourishing. To be respected, but also feared. What Mother Earth gave, she could take away. All of this described Kagome. She wasn't just physically beautiful, but spiritually, mentally, and emotionally lovely beyond words. And scary as all hell when mad.

He couldn't help himself. Before he knew what he was doing, he was already kissing her. A delicate brush of lips, a bare touch, yet powerful and moving. Inuyasha didn't want to touch Kagome. He _needed_ to, like breathing. He prolonged his contact by embracing the slight form of his 'everything'. 'Everything', because all that he was, needed, wanted was within her, Kagome. She was the source of his highest hopes, his wildest dreams, and his darkest fears. She also held his past, present, and future in the palm of her hand. She just didn't know it yet. Inuyasha decided to change that.

He pulled back from Kagome, opening his eyes (when had they shut?) to gaze at her. Her eyes were still closed, but her eyebrows were beginning to knit into a confused expression. She slowly exposed the forests behind her lids as she searched his face questioningly. Inuyasha had to smile at her. She looked so worried.

"Inuyasha?"

He sighed, leaning forward to place his forehead against hers. This was his favorite way to look at her. If his hair fell just right, it would cut off the rest of the world, curtaining the two of them in a little sanctuary. Inuyasha was staring right into Kagome's wood-colored eyes when he opened his mouth to say-

"NEE-CHAN! Mom says it's time for DINNER!"

That wasn't what he was going to say. Inuyasha glanced up in time to see Souta widen his eyes at the scene he had just disturbed. A low growl came from, surprisingly, Kagome's throat. The hanyou barely had time to move out of the way before the schoolgirl shot off of her seat to chase down and possibly kill her younger brother, who had finally figured that running for his life would be a good idea.

Bemused, Inuyasha stood and ambled his way over to the Higurashi residence, watching the siblings (hopefully) mock-fight. He jumped straight into the air, however, when Mrs. Higurashi spoke from right behind him.

"What happens now, Inuyasha?" Her face was mature with wisdom and experience, but good humor and laughter kept her eyes young. Mrs. Higurashi had seen a lot in her few decades, but witnessing the growing relationship between this strange young man and her daughter was an event in its self. She could only remember how she felt with her first and only love, Kagome's father. Mama silently prayed that her daughter wouldn't have to go through the same pain that she had. She returned her attention to Inuyasha.

The poor startled hanyou was gulping air in order to catch his breath to answer Mrs. Higurashi's surprise question. "I (pant) honestly (pant) don't know, Higurashi-san."

If he was expecting her to be upset that he didn't have plans for the future of her only daughter, Inuyasha was to be disappointed. At his admission to lack of insight, Mrs. Higurashi smiled brightly. "That's good to hear, Inuyasha."

"What?" Obviously, he was confused. "You're not worried?"

"Oh, of course I'm worried," Mrs. Higurashi replied. "Kagome's my oldest and my only daughter, so naturally I'll be anxious." She patted Inuyasha on the shoulder. "But she knows who she loves and I trust her wholeheartedly." Then turning to watch her children 'play', she continued, "However, the future is never a certain thing. If you make specific plans, things will never go the way you want them to. If you don't have any hopes or dreams, then nothing will ever come about. But, if you don't _know _for sure what you want, or only have a general idea," Here she turned to face Inuyasha, "and let things take their natural course, wonderful things can and will happen." A short scream sounded across the yard and Mrs. Higurashi's head snapped back to courtyard. Kagome had Souta in a headlock. With her knees. And the boy was pleading for mercy. Looking back at the hanyou, she said, "Please excuse me," and rushed over with the Jaws of Life to help her youngest.

Inuyasha tried to close his mouth, really he did. But Mrs. Higurashi's little speech had quite floored the boy. Finally, after witnessing the two Higurashi women turn on the poor boy and begin tickling him to death, he was able to get over his shock. 'If I don't know. Hmm.' Inuyasha decided to put those thoughts in the back of his mind until later, when he could examine them properly. That accomplished, he proceeded over to the sea of human bodies (they had somehow ended up in a dog pile, no pun intended) to extract his Kagome and her relatives so they could all go and eat.

* * *

**Later that night…**

After a filling meal of sukiyaki and instant ramen, Inuyasha curled himself up on a pile of zabuton in the living room, while Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi cleaned up the kitchen. Jii-chan was completing his nightly ritual of purifying the grounds and Souta was riveted to the TV and his videogames. With everyone either out of the way or distracted, Inuyasha could now properly analyze what Mrs. Higurashi had said earlier.

'What an interesting way to look at things,' he mused. 'She's right though, now that I think about it.'

Inuyasha wondered how things with Kikyo might have turned out if they had just let things be, rather then trying to change their situations so drastically. 'If we hadn't planned something that could have gone so obviously wrong or planned anything at all, where would I be now?' He paused for a moment, considering possible alternatives. But none of them filled him with the joy and contentment he felt with Kagome, now that he knew she loved him.

He shook his head at his thoughts, ignoring the strange and contemplating look Souta shot at him. 'No. I would not change a thing about what happened. It was painful, but worth it in the end.'

"Inu-no-nii-chan?"

Inuyasha was startled from his thoughts. 'I've gotta start paying better attention otherwise someone will be able to scare me to death.' To Souta, he said, "Yeah, kid? Whaddya want?"

Souta was kneeling in front of the hanyou, his dark hair tousled from the wrestling earlier. His wide brown eyes, so similar to his sister's, were staring intently at the dog-eared teenager/hero. Inuyasha had only seen the kid this serious once before, back when he'd asked him for love advice. The hanyou figured that this wasn't what Souta was after this time though. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if Souta were to jump on his case for abandoning Kagome. Inuyasha sat up straight and crossed his arms, meeting Souta's merciless gaze. He was not going to back down.

Five tense minutes passed with the two just staring at each other and Inuyasha was becoming a little creeped out by the intensity of the ten-year-old's eyes.

"Inuyasha."

Said hanyou spooked and thus lost the staring contest. But Inuyasha was so caught up in worrying what the kid was going to say that he didn't even notice that Souta had called him by his full name. He visibly flinched though, waiting for Kagome's brother to reprimand him.

"Why are you wearing a school uniform?"

Inuyasha face-faulted. 'Huh?' Rolling to his side and glancing up at the now very amused Souta, he growled softly. Not threatening, just annoyed. He righted himself and proceeded to dust off the questionable dark blue uniform.

Inuyasha found he rather liked the color. It helped him blend in better than the red of his fire-rat ever had. Of course his nifty new watch helped too, but that was different. However, with both the uniform and the watch set at the right disguise, he could become practically invisible, something he'd dreamed of in his childhood when he'd been cruelly ridiculed by humans and demons. Then things had changed after Kagome had entered his life. Sure the taunting was still present, but he no longer felt the need to hide. If Kagome could stand up to the insensitive bastards for him, then he could repay the favor by standing by her side.

A hand pulling on his sleeve brought Inuyasha back the present. Souta was looking askance at him, wondering why the hanyou wasn't answering his question. Inuyasha cleared his throat softly, while he thought of what to say.

"Well, uh, you see, I…" Inuyasha sighed and closed his eyes, 'Just say it.' Heaving another sigh, he opened his eyes and faced Souta. The younger boy had an eager gleam in his eye that made the hanyou suspicious. 'Oh, well,' he shrugged mentally.

"You see, kid, I'm wearing this uniform because- ah, because-" 'Damn it! Spit it out already.' "Because I'm going to Kagome's school," he managed finally.

Souta blinked a couple of times, then rolled his eyes. "Well, duh, Inu-no-nii-chan. I kinda figured that already." Inuyasha's jaw dropped to the floor. "What I wanted to know is _why_

you're going to Nee-chan's school?"

Inuyasha snapped his jaw off the floor and slapped himself for his stupidity. 'Kid's smarter than I gave him credit for.' Turning back to Souta, Inuyasha proceeded to explain all about his Master Plan for coming to the future with his wish and surprising Kagome for her birthday.

At the end of the explanation, the younger boy just gaped at his hero. Inuyasha had put a lot of thought into this plan of his. Making sure that everyone would be comfortable, or at least on their way to being comfortable (Miroku was still having some trouble with the sexual harassment laws in the workplace), in this era took a lot of effort. Souta was duly impressed at what the hanyou had accomplished.

"Wow, Inu-no-nii-chan! You must really love Nee-chan to do all that."

Inuyasha stiffened. Ears swiveling and nose sniffing, he quickly found where Kagome was hiding, listening in on their conversation. She was in the hall that led to the stairs, but also leading to both kitchen and living room. She had stopped just before the wall turned into shoji, allowing the thicker partition to hide her from view. Inuyasha could tell that she was so focused on hearing what he would say in response to Souta's claim, that she hadn't even registered his pause.

Smirking to himself, Inuyasha decided to be honest, both with Souta and himself. Keeping his senses on his Kagome, he answered her brother.

"Yeah, Souta. I do love Kagome." He heard her sharp intake of breath. "I love her so much, sometimes it hurts." A salty scent filled the air. Tears. "I think I've been in love with her since the first time we ever fought."

The shoji slammed open and Inuyasha barely had time to face her before Kagome crashed into him. She threw her arms around his neck and her momentum had both of them tumbling backwards. Now on his back, Inuyasha had a bare second to draw a breath to keep from smothering before her mouth covered his.

Kagome's kisses were slightly frantic and traveled over his entire face, the tears on her cheeks tasting of joy and love. Inuyasha was so overwhelmed by this display, that he could only wrap his arms around the girl he loved and hold her tight.

"Ewww, Nee-chan. Get a room." Souta's disgusted voice drifted through the haze of tears and kisses. Kagome pulled away only to collapse on top of Inuyasha's chest laughing. Inuyasha relaxed into a full body flop on the floor and turned his head towards Souta, who was now rolling with laughter, to glare playfully at the younger boy. "Ya know, kid, you just ruined a perfect moment here."

This only brought on more peals of happy noises form both siblings. Kagome eventually gained enough control to work herself into a kneeling position, allowing Inuyasha to prop himself up on his elbows. He looked at her glowing face, glad to see that she was no longer crying. Her tears, even those of happiness, always left him confused and flustered. Inuyasha pushed up so he was now sitting cross-legged, facing Kagome. He gently cupped her smiling face in his hands to look deep into her forest eyes.

She was still smiling, only now it was more tender and loving than ever before. Inuyasha stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, erasing the remaining tear tracks. He leaned forward, forehead-to-forehead, gazing into those wonderful pools of color. Kagome let out a shuddering sigh, then softly whispered, "I love you, Inuyasha."

A smile tilted his lips upward, just prior to his gently brushing her lips as he returned her words. "I love you, Kagome."

The sound of clapping hands and catcalls brought the two would-be (if they could ever get some real privacy) lovers out of their little world. They both turned their heads towards the doorway that led into the kitchen. Standing in a nice straight line were Mama, Jii-chan, and Souta. They were all clapping and cheering as if they were attending a sporting event, rather than intruding upon the most romantic moment Kagome and Inuyasha had ever had in their lives.

Blushing and stuttering like mad, the teenagers quickly pulled away from each other, which brought several boos and hisses from the peanut gallery. Kagome shot to her feet, pointed an accusing finger at her interfering family, came up with nothing to say, and ran embarrassed from the room.

Inuyasha could only attempt to hide his reddened face and follow after Kagome, with hooting, hollering, and all around obscene commentary trailing behind him.

* * *

Quick note:

Zabuton- those little cushions that take the place of chairs in Japanese households.

That's all.


	9. My Family is Your Family

**Chapter Nine: My Family is Your Family**

"I can't believe them. How could they do something like that to me?"

Inuyasha sat Indian-style on Kagome's bed, watching as she paced back and forth across the carpet. She had been letting off steam about her family/audience ever since they'd slunk from the living room/stage. That had been ten minutes ago, and while Inuyasha agreed that the other Higurashi family members had had no right to spy on them like that, he had also gotten rather tired of the subject some time past.

"Oi, Kagome," he finally called to the enraged girl, standing from the bed in one fluid movement.

The schoolgirl was so wrapped up in her rant, she didn't even notice the hanyou until she collided with him. Only Inuyasha's strong hands on her left upper arm and around her waist kept her from falling flat on her butt.

"Easy there, wench."

Kagome glanced up into Inuyasha's laughing eyes. The warm light and genuine affection in his face caused her heart to skip a beat. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat as she watched that light and affection turn into something deeper, something almost frightening. But Kagome wasn't terribly worried. She had just heard Inuyasha confess that he loved her, had loved her for a long time. She was amazed, awed, and only a little bit scared.

She really had no reason to be afraid though. She didn't have to worry about him running away with Kikyo or Naraku possibly killing him. With both of them in the afterlife (hopefully one happier than the other), there was nothing that could possibly take Inuyasha away from her. However, words of doubt still ran about her head.

'Stupid, evil baby,' she swore in her head. She hated thinking of how Naraku's baby incarnation had made her feel when he attempted to steal her eyes. He'd tried to make her distrust her hanyou, to believe that Inuyasha would not come for her, but had failed in the end. Kagome had simply loved Inuyasha too much. But the insecurity that there would always be something that could take him away from her remained.

Inuyasha, sensing Kagome's upset, instinctively wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in the warmth and scent that was only his. Kagome bowed her head to touch her forehead to his chest and drew in a deep breath, imbedding that scent into her memory just in case. She brought her own arms up and clung to Inuyasha like a lifeline. She could feel his cheek resting on top of her head and she heard him inhale her scent as well.

A few peaceful moments passed before Inuyasha softly whispered her name. Kagome raised her face to meet his golden eyes, the eyes that were present in all of her dreams (except for the nightmares about math class). He opened his mouth to say something more, but Kagome didn't let him. Raising herself on tiptoes, she brought their lips together in another kiss, hopefully only one of millions more.

The kiss lasted for only a moment until Inuyasha pulled back. He gently nuzzled her cheek before he released her. Instead of totally losing contact, Kagome clasped his hand in hers and led him to sit on the bed. Once they were both situated, him leaning against the wall with legs stretched out to the edge of the bed and her placed between his legs with her back to his chest and head to his shoulder, Kagome began The Talk.

"So Inuyasha, tell me what happened these past two months." Inuyasha began to speak. He told her of how he came up with the idea to come to the future (he left out bringing the rest of the group since he knew she hadn't heard that part of his and Souta's conversation and he wanted that to be a surprise for tomorrow), and how he had to track down his brother to ask for his help. Kagome was bemused by Sesshoumaru's opinion of her and astonished that she'd made such an impression on the stoic dog-demon.

Inuyasha then told her of how he'd made his wish, carefully leaving out any mention of Sango, Shippou, or Miroku though he knew she would eventually ask. But Kagome seemed much more intrigued with how he got along with his brother after a supposed five hundred year separation.

"Well, things are definitely better between us," Inuyasha confided. "Sesshoumaru doesn't call me 'insolent whelp' or 'dirty half-breed' anymore." He paused thoughtfully for a second. "Rin says his opinion changed drastically after their first child was born."

Kagome cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Rin? You mean the human girl that was always tagging along behind him? She's still alive?" Inuyasha nodded his head in confirmation. "But how? She should have died a long time ago."

Nodding again, Inuyasha tried to explain, "It's one of those weird youkai mating things or something. When she came of age, Sesshoumaru performed some ritual and it granted her a longer lifespan." He shrugged, which felt slightly odd to Kagome because she could only feel the motion and not actually see it. "It goes hand-in-hand with the 'youkai mate for life' crap."

"So," Kagome ventured after a bit of thought, "is it only full youkai who can do that mate for life thing? Or can a hanyou perform the ritual?" She was blushing like a tomato by the time she finished her question. Inuyasha could feel the heat rising from her skin. Or maybe that was his own skin giving off that much warmth.

"I-I really d-don't know," he stuttered out, cursing the gods for thinking it a good idea to make faces turn bright red at the first hint of embarrassment. "I'd have to ask Sesshoumaru about it."

"Oh, okay," Kagome replied meekly. 'Why did I have to ask that? Now it's going to be sooooooooo awkward.' She silently shook her head at her own stupidity, then proceeded to change the subject. "Ahem, well, what happened after you arrived here?"

Inuyasha leapt at the chance for salvation, "Oh, um. Not much I guess. I spent a lot of time learning how to live in this era and everything that happened during those five-hundred years."

Kagome turned her upper body so she could look into Inuyasha's face. She met his gaze for a moment before turning further towards him and snuggling into his chest. "You missed a lot of stuff between then and now, didn't you?"

His arms came up and pulled her tighter against him, the top of her head under his chin. "I don't mind really. As long as I'm with you." He moved slightly so he could place a kiss on her temple. She raised her face up and met his lips with her own in a small, chaste kiss, before she hunkered back down into the comfort of his embrace.

He sighed, leaning his head against the wall, "You wanna know what the worst part about coming to the future was for me?" She tilted her head to the side, allowing him to view her blinking questioningly up at him. Inuyasha smiled gently at her. 'She's so cute right now.' The smile never leaving his face, he answered his own question. "The worst part for me was the waiting."

"The waiting?" Kagome wrinkled her nose in confusion.

He nodded once, "Yes. Waiting for lights to change. Waiting for the subway or bus. Waiting for my tutor so I could learn more about this world and time. But most of all, waiting to see you again." He blushed lightly waiting her response.

Silence. Then, a soft, choked "Oh, Inuyasha," was his only warning before Kagome began crying. She clutched at his uniform's jacket and started sobbing. 'Here we go again," he thought in amusement and only mild panic. He really had no idea what to do with crying women, especially this one. So in the end all he did was rub her back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner and let her cry herself out.

Thankfully it was only a couple of minutes before Kagome was sniffling and attempting to dry her eyes on her own shirt's short sleeve. The action of raising the sleeve to her face brought Inuyasha's attention to the front of the shirt for the first time since that afternoon.

When he read the words over the picture of the black and white dog wearing sunglasses with its paws crossed over its chest, Inuyasha couldn't keep the grin off his face.

'So she's a "Big Dog Lover", huh? We'll see about that.' Then he formed an evil plan.

* * *

Kagome had to go to the bathroom, because she had run out of tissues in her room and her sleeve just wasn't cutting it. As she ambled her way back towards her room with the pale pink and flowered box of Kleenex in her hands, she thought about everything that Inuyasha had just told her.

'He's been through a lot since I last saw him,' she thought, gently wiping her nose with one of the tissues. 'And here I've been, thinking he'd gallivanted off with the Jewel.'

She shook her head quickly when those pesky tears threatened to start again, 'Mama was right. Inuyasha did have a good reason to be gone for so long.'

A soft creak sounded on the stairs just behind her. Kagome whirled around and almost collided with Mama, who had a large basket of sheets fresh from the dryer in her arms. She was slightly off-balance, so Kagome generously offered to carry the load. An added bonus was that she could speak with her mother and think some more before heading back to her room.

"Thank you, Kagome dear," Mama said, once the two women reached the elder's bedroom. "That was quite heavy."

"It's nothing, Mama." Flumping down on the bed, Kagome began to help Mama fold the sheets and blankets. A few moments of silent folding passed between mother and daughter. Once the folding was completed, Mama decided to break the silence.

After setting the basket on the floor, she sat next to Kagome and placed an arm around her daughter's shoulder, "I should apologize for all of us earlier," she started. "We shouldn't have teased you and Inuyasha so badly." A side long glance showed that Kagome wasn't really hearing what her mother was saying. A little shake-up was necessary. "Although, with the way the two of you were going at it, I'm surprised you even noticed we were there."

Kagome snapped her head up and blushed red. "Mama!" she cried indignantly. To be honest, she'd almost forgotten how upset she'd been at her family just a few minutes ago. 'I guess that's what love, or extreme embarrassment, can do to you.' Out loud she said, "I can't believe you said that."

Her mother just laughed. "Sorry, sorry. That was just too easy. Forgive me." Kagome just sighed and shook her head. "It's okay, Mama. To tell the truth, " she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "I kinda forgot about it."

Mama voiced a gentle 'ah'. A beat of silence, then "So, what have you two been talking about in your room?" She slid her arm away from Kagome's body so she could settle more comfortably on the bed and still see her oldest child's face.

Poor Kagome flushed again. She just didn't know what to say to Mama. She couldn't tell her about- yeah, that'd go over well. Then it hit her. 'Mama will want to know about that.' Pulling courage from somewhere, Kagome faced her mother.

"Inuyasha told me what he's been doing for the past two months."

This immediately sparked Mama's interest, as Kagome had known it would. "Oh really? And what has that adorable boy been doing with himself?"

"Well," Kagome started, only slightly bemused that her mother thought Inuyasha was adorable, "first off, he made his wish on the Shikon No Tama, like I told you, remember?" Mama nodded. "His wish was to come here to the future to be with me."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Mama cooed. However, at Kagome's grimace of pain, she simply laughed again, a sweet happy sound. "Sorry. I know you hate it when I do that. Once again, I couldn't resist. So, what caused such a long wait?"

"He transported himself here to the future and met up with his older brother, Sesshoumaru." Here, Kagome had to pause in order to explain how full demons could live for several centuries and that Sesshoumaru hadn't accompanied Inuyasha on his "trip", but had lived through the five hundred year time difference so he could help the hanyou settle in when he arrived. "So, Inuyasha's spent the last few weeks learning all about this time and so on, just so he could stay here with me." Kagome trailed off dreamily.

Mama smiled warmly. "That really was very thoughtful of Inuyasha, wasn't it?" A vague agreement was Kagome's only answer. "Still, I can't help but wonder what happened to your other friends."

This questioning statement brought Kagome out of her daze. 'Hmm, that's right. Inuyasha still hasn't told me what happened with Sango, Miroku, and Shippou. I think I'll go force it out of him now.' She was already on her feet and headed for the door, before the thought had completely formed.

"Kagome, where are you going?"

Hand on the doorjamb and foot already in the hallway, Mama's voice turned the girl around. Kagome smiled brightly at her mother. "Just going to pry some information out of a certain hanyou, Mama." And with that she turned on her heel and marched down the hall.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all for being so patient with me. I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out where I want to go with these stories of mine. Work isn't helping that's for sure. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have no idea when the next will be out. Maybe I'll try working on my other stories. Inspiration just seems to come and go as it pleases.

I want to thank everyone who's read, reviewed, or done both. Your comments mean so much to me. Thank you again.

Reminder: Please e-mail or review me with any questions, comments, etc.

Remember: I now own a plushie human Inuyasha. I bought him from Suncoast.


	10. Evil Plots and How to Avoid Them

**A/N**: Hey guys! I am soooo sorry that it took me so long to update (bows profusely). My inspiration wouldn't let me work on anything but the rewrite for YinYang. Once I got started on that though, POOF! A new chapter for His Wish. Also the beginnings for the next one. Here's hoping you Enjoy!

Reminder: Wild inu-hanyous are notoriously hard to capture and tame. The only known captive specimen is in the care of one Rumiko Takahashi, where he is forced to perform tricks. Free Inuyasha! (I went Animal Planet and activist for some reason.)

Remember: I love to hear what you guys think. E-mail or review me at any time. Love you all.

**Chapter Ten: Evil Plots and How to Avoid Them**

Just outside her bedroom door, Kagome paused, her hand on the doorknob. A moment ago she'd been willing to bust down her own door in order to interrogate Inuyasha. Now, she wasn't as sure. She thought back to every other time she'd tried to pry vital information from the stubborn hanyou. Kagome cringed as she remembered how many sits it usually took to get Inuyasha to talk.

'Why am I worrying about this now? It never seemed to bother me before.' she wondered. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that every other time hadn't been right after both teenagers had confessed their love. Yeah, that made sense. Now Kagome had the sudden overwhelming urge to hide under some kind of large rock when she thought back on how she had dealt with her hanyou.

Figuring that caution was the better part of valor in this situation, Kagome leaned forward and placed an ear to the wood of the door, hand still ready to turn the knob. She listened carefully for any sound that might give away Inuyasha's activities in the adjoining room.

A minute, or maybe it was ten minutes, passed and Kagome heard nothing. 'Seems too quiet. He should be moving around at least.' Finally she decided to just open the door.

Putting only enough pressure to crack the door an inch or two, Kagome scanned what she could see of her room. Surprisingly, she could see quite a bit. A majority of her bed, her desk, and the window were all in her line of sight. Unfortunately, Inuyasha was not visible. Slightly worried, Kagome pushed the door wider and slipped into the room.

The bed sheets were lightly rumpled from when they had been sitting on it earlier and the homework on her desk looked as if someone had rifled through it. Kagome frowned as she moved further into her room. 'Where'd he go? Surely not out the window?'

Normally when Inuyasha departed through windows, he tended to leave them standing wide open after him. And seeing as her window was closed, Kagome rather doubted that he had gone that way. But just to be sure, she approached the fixture to see if it was still locked or not.

"Huh," she huffed. "Locked tight. Maybe he ran downstairs for a snack or something." She turned so she could go and check if Inuyasha was in the kitchen fixing himself some ramen. And came face to face with an enormous white dog.

It appeared to be a Husky, only rather larger than any sled dog that Kagome had ever seen. The top of the beast's head was above her waist and that was when it was sitting on its haunches. Pure white coat, only somewhat shaggy, and one blue eye and one brown. A bushy tail the size of a small child was laid out behind the animal.

Kagome froze. She liked dogs, mostly the small yippy variety, because ever since Sesshoumaru had transformed into his demon form and tried to step on her way back when, Kagome found herself terrified of big dogs, especially white ones. It didn't help that she had no idea how the dog could've gotten into the house, much less her room, without alerting some member of the family. And where was Inuyasha? Kagome was almost tempted to think that the dog had eaten him.

'Ok, have to get to the door. Then I can make a run for it. Or maybe just lock it in here until I find Inuyasha.' She began inching her way towards her door.

"Nice doggy, good doggy. You don't want to eat me," she whispered to the animal, praying it would understand her. Suddenly, the dog stood up. Kagome flinched as she pressed herself as far into the wall as she possible could. When the beast made no further move to attack, she continued her painstakingly slow trek to the door.

She had just gotten to the halfway point of her bed (the dog was standing just outside her open closet), when the dog bared its inch long teeth in what was undeniably a smirk. Then, it pounced. Or maybe pounce was too light a word. Pounce was something Buyo would do to a mouse. This monster of a canine _launched_ its self at the frightened schoolgirl. Kagome screwed her eyes shut, screamed as loud as she could, and fell into a dead faint.

* * *

"Kagome" 

Someone was shaking her by the shoulders. 'Get off. I want to sleep,' she thought hazily.

"Forgive me, Kagome. I didn't know you were scared of dogs."

'Dogs? What the-'

Awake instantly, Kagome shot up from her prone position on the floor. She glanced around wildly, searching for the beast of a dog and coming up with only a guilty and apologetic looking Inuyasha. Since the hanyou rarely wore either expression, a suspicion began to grow in the back of her mind.

"Inuyasha, where did the dog go?"

His twitch at the accusing tone of her voice solidified the suspicion. 'No, he couldn't… he wouldn't-' Kagome thought in despair. Her inner turmoil was disturbed by Inuyasha embracing her.

"I'm really sorry, Kagome. I didn't mean it. It was a stupid thing to do. You know I'd never intentionally hurt you, right? It was a mistake, a stupid mistake." Inuyasha was babbling. She hated it when people babbled, so she reached a hand up to cover his mouth. He stopped talking and just stared at her desolately. Once she was sure that he wouldn't start his prattle up again, Kagome removed her hand.

"Inuyasha," she said firmly, wondering if she really wanted to know what had happened. "Inuyasha, tell me what you did."

Inuyasha cringed and pulled back from her. He ended up under the window, back pressed against the wall, with his knees pulled to his chest. He remained silent, but appeared to be contemplating how to phrase his next words. Kagome waited, patient as always. Finally, he spoke.

"I don't know why I did it," he confessed. "Maybe I thought it'd be funny. Maybe it was a type of revenge, I guess, for all those 'sits'." He glanced up into her eyes, searching for something. When he didn't find it, he averted his eyes and continued, "It was your shirt that gave me the idea."

Now she was confused. "My shirt? What do you mean?" She peeked down at the garment, not having made the connection. When she saw the picture and the words, everything clicked. "Ohh. I see now. You thought the dog- and then- oh, Inuyasha, I'm sorry, too."

He blinked in bemusement. "What- no, Kagome, it was my fault. I didn't think and-" His protestations were cut off by Kagome's hand over his mouth again. She crawled over to him and pushed his legs down into a cross-legged position. Then, after removing her hand and shushing him with a finger to her lips when he made to speak again, she clambered into his lap, her back to his chest. She also grabbed both of his arms and wrapped them around her waist. It took him only a moment to shake off his stupor and tighten his arms about her. His face then went into her hair, where she could only just make out the barest whisper of "I'm sorry" once more.

Kagome sighed and began stroking the top his forearms with her fingertips. "Don't be sorry, Inuyasha," she said. "You were right when you said you didn't know I was afraid of dogs. I never told you." She felt Inuyasha raise his head from her shoulder.

"But why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, his breath wafting past her cheek and raising gooseflesh along her arms. She shivered and he pulled her closer.

"I didn't tell you, because I was embarrassed. I thought you would've laughed at me. Don't deny it," she insisted when he made to protest. "Back then, you would have found it very amusing or possibly even insulting." Kagome changed her grip on his arms so she could lace her fingers with one of his hands. She then brought the combined appendages up to her face so she could examine the long claws on Inuyasha's fingers. She watched as he flexed the digits and felt him lightly scrape the back of her hand. On an impulse, she kissed each claw once then lowered their hands back to her lap. She leaned back until her head was on his shoulder and closed her eyes. A moment passed.

"How long have you been afraid of them?"

"Hm?" Kagome turned her head slightly towards Inuyasha.

He cleared his throat. "I said, how long have you been afraid of dogs?" His voice was thick with some emotion, which she couldn't pinpoint, maybe remorse. She shrugged gently, more to emphasize unconcern than ignorance.

"Ever since we ran into Sesshoumaru the first time." She sensed Inuyasha's puzzlement, so elaborated. "Almost being stepped on by a giant demon dog would definitely lay grounds for a phobia, Inuyasha. Luckily, I only seem to be afraid of large white dogs. Or" after she thought about it for a moment "unluckily, in your case." She giggled when she felt him gulp in embarrassment. "Don't worry, koishi. I don't blame you for not knowing. I blame myself for not telling."

"But, Kagome-" he started.

"Hush," she muttered over her shoulder. "I'm comfortable, tired, and truly happy right now. Let me be." She closed her eyes and sank into the warmth and safety of her hanyou's embrace and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

Inuyasha couldn't believe it. He'd just scared the crap out of Kagome (unwittingly though it was) and here she was taking the blame because she hadn't told him the nature of her fear. Of all the messed up- couldn't she see that he blamed himself for having never been able to tell that she'd even had such a fear? He was supposed to notice this type of thing, damn it! 

Now that he did know, Inuyasha could think back on all the times Kagome's fear had been present. There was that one time, just before they'd met Sango, when a lower level (mini-A/N: I see demons as having two levels/forms. Animal, like the lizards or tanukis, and human/animal, like Sesshoumaru.) dog-demon had attacked them. He hadn't noticed her fear than because it had seemed naturally considering the circumstances. Then that demon of Tsubaki's that Inuyasha had to fight. The fear was already there so a slight rise in it wasn't noticeable.

However, there had been that one instance, a few weeks before they'd defeated Naraku, when the Group had been passing through a village and a large dog had suddenly appeared in front of Kagome. Inuyasha had simply thought her nervousness was from the animal surprising them, not some fear the girl already had.

He sighed. 'No good thinking about what can't be changed.' He glanced down at the sleeping form of his love. 'Still get shivers thinking about that,' he thought, grinning slightly. Just the idea of Kagome loving him in spite of his mistakes wiped away the guilt and embarrassment of his blunder. He grinned wider. She had a way of doing that. The mere thought of her was enough to make everything alright again. He pulled the girl closer. 'If I hug her any tighter, we might as well be one person.'

His grin soon disappeared though to be replaced by a frown. He needed to get home. He had promised Shippou that he would come back sometime tonight and give him all the 'juicy details', as he'd called it, of Kagome's reaction.

Inuyasha smirked as he imagined the fox's reaction to Kagome and his confessions. 'He'll squeal like a pig, than run around hugging everyone in sight, followed by jumping on and over everything for ten minutes. Than he'll start all over again.' The slayer and monk's reactions would probably be much calmer (in comparison to Shippou that is) and only include congratulations and mild threats to treat Kagome right.

That thought made him pause. 'I just hope I can.' He placed a small kiss to the top of the girl's head before he attempted to carry her to her bed. A moment of awkward hand placement and wondering how the hell to not disturb her, followed by Inuyasha gently placing Kagome on top of her sheets. He spread the extra blanket that she'd had folded on the end of her bed over her and tucked in the edges.

Rifling through her desk produced pen and paper. He wrote out a quick note explaining where he'd gone and taped it to her alarm clock, after setting the alarm so she wouldn't be late in the morning. Just before he left, Inuyasha leaned over Kagome and brushed an errant lock of hair off her face. She stirred, turning over to her side, then mumbled a sleepy "… love… you… nu… sha."

Inuyasha grinned and kissed her temple. "I love you too, Kagome." Then he was gone.

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	11. The Morning After

A/N: Hey guys. I told you I'd get the next chapter out soon. Woot! Here it is. I hope you like it. Enjoy

Remember: I like disclaimers. They force me to think of new clever and witty ways to say I don't own Inuyasha.

Reminder: E-mails and reviews are welcome and encouraged (I've become a review junkie). Let me know what you think.

**Chapter Eleven: The Morning After (out of the gutter people)**

The incessant buzzing right by her ear was what woke Kagome the next morning. She lifted her upper body off the mattress, and barely registered slapping the clock and knocking it to the floor (where it continued to ring) before flopping back down, her face buried in her pillow

'Ugh. Darn alarm, darn school. Interrupting a perfectly good dream.' She pushed herself over to her back and clasped her hands over her stomach. 'If it hadn't been for that giant dog, that would've been a perfectly wonderful fantasy.' She grinned and covered her face with her hands in joyous embarrassment. 'Inuyasha confessing his love and saying he wants to be with me. What a dream.'

Slowly the muffled ringing of her alarm clock reached her through her daze and Kagome sighed. She rolled to her side and pushed herself into a sitting position. When her feet touched the floor, she was surprised to feel paper rather than carpet.

'Huh?' Kagome picked both clock and paper off the floor. After shutting off the alarm and replacing it on her bedside table, Kagome examined the paper. Or rather, the note.

'OH. MY. GOD. It wasn't a dream.'

For here was a note, for her, from Inuyasha. It read:

Hey, Kagome.

I'm writing this note cause you fell asleep on me last night. Literally. I'm sorry I can't stay the night, but I have to go home and change, if nothing else. I will see you at school in the morning. Meet me at the entrance at 7:30. See you then.

I love you,

Inuyasha

Kagome let her hands fall to her lap in shock. 'Everything really happened. Inuyasha's here. And he loves me.' She couldn't help herself. She covered her face with both hands and note and tried to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. Still, a squeal worthy of any fan girl managed to squeeze out. When that didn't relieve her excitement, rolling around, kicking her feet in glee, and laughing like a maniac was the order of business. Soon she was out of breath and still trying to laugh. "Gods, I think I'm crazy," she gasped out loud. 'Crazy in love,' was the mental response.

Suddenly, Kagome's daze was broken by her mother shouting, "Kagome! It's almost seven! Breakfast!"

Kagome shoot up like a shot. "Ah, crap! It's seven already. That means I've got, uh,-" Math was not her best subjects, even on the most coherent of days. "Uh, a half-hour to get to the school. Crap!" And with that last eloquent statement, Kagome was out the door and in the shower.

* * *

'Crapcrapcrapcrap' This mantra was what drove Kagome to Olympic worthy running, just to get to the school gates on time. Since school started at 7:45 (author shrugs), that would leave only fifteen minutes to see Inuyasha, even if she got there on time. Her watch already said it was 7:25 and she was still at least ten minutes away.

"Oo, shortcut," she said as she passed by the park near the school. Dodging past young children ('why aren't they home asleep?') and their parents playing on the playground, Kagome raced across the grass.

A few more minutes blind, outright running, brought her to the school entrance. Slowing to a stop just inside the grounds, Kagome bent over her knees trying to catch her breath. A glance at her watch showed 7:32. 'Made it!' she thought triumphantly, still attempting to keep her heart and lungs inside her chest.

"Gods, Kagome, what took you so long?"

At the sound of his voice, all thoughts of catching her breath and keeping her heart where it was flew out of her head. Whirling around revealed the same platinum blond, hazel-eyed boy from yesterday morning. Taisho was back, only with Inuyasha's smirk and attitude.

Kagome flung herself into his arms, heedless of her classmates who had stopped to stare.

"Inuyasha," she practically sobbed onto his neck. "I thought it'd been a dream." She pulled back so she could see his smiling face. "You have no idea how glad I am that it's not."

"Well, yeah, I kinda think I do," he said as he released her and rubbed his neck, grimacing in feigned pain. "Didn't realize you had such a nasty grip there, Kagome." Inuyasha laughed and ducked out of the way when she tried to swat him.

"Don't make me say it, Inuyasha," Kagome mock snarled, too happy at being with him to care if she couldn't got a shot in. She stumbled slightly when he stopped avoiding her and pulled her to him.

Inuyasha's hazel eyes burned gold as he wrapped his arms around his Kagome. Lowering his voice to a sultry tone, he growled softly, "I can think of something that will keep you from saying that word, koishi." She gasped at the petname and his veiled and completely welcome 'threat'.

Inuyasha was about to make good this threat when the most dreaded of all sounds came to Kagome's ears. The sounds of her friends talking and giggling. Sudden squeals of "Kagome!" rang through the morning air as the poor girl and hanyou were pounced upon by three giggling schoolgirls.

"Kagome, who's this?"

"What happened to your other boyfriend?"

"When did this happen?"

"Hey, it's the new transfer!"

"Wow, Kagome, you work fast!"

"What's your name?" (to Inuyasha)

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys!" Kagome had to shout to be heard over her friends chatter. "Calm down!" The three girls withdrew slightly, giving their friend a chance to explain. "This is Inuyasha," she pointed behind her, where Inuyasha was currently hiding. "You met him a while ago, remember?"

"Oh, is that him?"

"When did he transfer here?"

"Why didn't you tell us before, Kagome?"

Kagome laughed, "Because I didn't know before. Apparently he wanted to surprise me for my birthday."

All three girls cooed in unison. Inuyasha cringed. Ayumi was the first to notice the poor hanyou's reluctance to face his girlfriend's friends. And rightfully so. They were terrifying.

"Hey, Kagome," the curly-haired girl said. "We'll see you in class in a bit. Just don't be too late." Then, with a saucy wink at the blushing couple, Ayumi lassoed Yuka and Eri and hauled them (kicking and screaming, of course) off to homeroom.

Kagome sighed gratefully, 'I owe you one, Ayumi.' Hands on her waist, brought her around to face the no longer cowering Inuyasha. Turning her head slightly to the side and catching his gaze out of the corner of her eye, she intoned slyly, "Gosh, Inuyasha, you've faced down hundreds of demons and defeated Naraku, the most evil critter of all time. And yet you hide from three innocent schoolgirls." At his indignant look, she laughed and continued, "One would think you were almost _scared _of them, or something."

Inuyasha tugged her closer. "Yes, they're absolutely horrifying. Attack of the Killer Schoolgirls." He shivered, earning a giggle from Kagome.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face towards his, intending to finish what they had started before they'd been so rudely interrupted when-

DING! DONG! DING!

-the school bell rang. Both teens sighed heavily, sweat drops appearing comically against their heads. Kagome gazed up at Inuyasha's disappointed expression and would have laughed, if only she weren't feeling exactly the same way. "We're never going to get a break, are we?" she asked.

Inuyasha shook his head, "I don't think so. At least not this morning." He glanced up at the school building, arms still around Kagome's hips. "I guess we should go. Don't want to be late on my second day."

Kagome grinned. Inuyasha was nothing, if not punctual. All those times he'd gotten mad at her for being even a minute late. "Okay." She reluctantly removed herself from Inuyasha's embrace and turned to retrieve her backpack from where she'd dropped it earlier. She'd just slipped it onto her shoulders, when something occurred to her.

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?" he called from where he was getting his backpack.

"What class are you in?"

He frowned, "2-D. Why?"

"Shoot." Kagome brought her thumb to her lips and proceeded to chew on the nail. "I'm in 2-A. We won't be in the same classroom."

Inuyasha shrugged, as he steered the displeased girl towards the school. "That doesn't really matter, does it?" He hastily raised his hands in surrender when she shot him a nasty look. "I mean, we'll still see each other at lunch, right?" She nodded, still looking annoyed. "And class doesn't last forever." She sighed and, sensing the danger had passed, he grabbed her hand. " And today, after school, I'll take you to where I'm living with Sa- I mean Sesshoumaru."

Having caught the slip of tongue he'd made, Kagome wondered what exactly Inuyasha was still hiding from her. 'Nothing horrible to be sure, but still-'

They stopped when they reached the doors into the school. Inuyasha was faintly nervous. First off, he'd almost slipped up and said Sango's name. He'd managed a save, but, judging by the expression on her face, Kagome wasn't buying it. And secondly, this was going to be his first day attending classes. Yesterday didn't count because he'd been filling out paperwork right before that stupid teacher had cornered him, and then he'd had to run off after Kagome shortly after that. But one problem at a time. 'First Kagome and my stupid slip-up.'

Leaning down to whisper in Kagome's ear, he added in a seductive voice, "Plus you'll get the rest of your birthday present when we get there." Drawing back to examine his handiwork, revealed the brightest blush Inuyasha had ever seen his love produce. She was practically neon with the blood that had rushed to her face. He smirked. 'That worked well,' he thought smugly.

Kagome was floored. 'He can't possibly mean what I think he means. Can he?' One glance at her hanyou's smirking countenance proved it. 'Oh no.'

DING! DONG! DING!

The last bell warning all wayward students that it was time for their butts to be in seats snapped both of them out of their little worlds. Kagome turned to Inuyasha, squeaked a quick "See you at lunch" and scurried off to her classroom. Inuyasha followed at a more sedate pace, still pleased with himself.

Neither of them saw the auburn-haired schoolboy, face slack with shock, watching them from the school's bike yard.

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	12. The Sweetest Thing

A/N: Hey guys. Here's a nice chapter for you all to read. I sincerely apologize for being so long in writing it. My head hasn't been up for writing lately. There are three different meanings to this title buried in the chapter itself (scenes and what-not). I'll give a cookie to whoever can guess all three.

Remember: Inuyasha may not be mine, but I do love making him squirm on my little fan fiction fishing line. He makes such lovely bait, don't you think?

Reminder: E-mail/review me with anything you have to say. I want to hear from you all.

**Chapter Twelve: The Sweetest Thing**

When the bell signifying lunch finally rang, Inuyasha hurried to the roof of the school. He had to dodge around the grasping hands of hormone driven teenage schoolgirls (who had, for some reason, practically tackled him when the teacher had introduced him to the class), but eventually he retreated to the safety of outside. Now, as he lounged atop the stairwell's little building, he reflected on how his first day of school was going.

'I think I understand a little of Kagome's difficulty with homework. How they expect us to finish all that work by the next day is beyond me.'

The first half of his day had been full of Algebra, Chemistry, and History. The history class hadn't been so bad, just listening to the teacher droning on. Considering that Inuyasha still had plenty to learn about the five hundred years separating his time and this, he found the subject enlightening at best, repetitive at worst. The math and science, however, was an entirely different story. Algebra was almost completely over his head. If Kagome had never worked on her math homework way back when, Inuyasha would've been totally lost. As it was, Kagome had actually taken the time to explain a bit about the more advanced math and with the tutoring sessions he'd had since arriving, he was able to understand some of the formulas.

Chemistry had been a complete disaster. Not only did he know nothing about chemicals, but he'd managed to break two beakers, blow up a microscope (he had no idea how that had happened), and had set one of the fawning schoolgirls' hair on fire. Luckily there were minimal injuries and the girl's hair had been put out before it was more than singed, but Inuyasha was still glad when the bell rang, excusing them for lunch.

He sighed and rolled to his side, hand propping up his head. 'I still don't get why all those girls were trying to talk to me.' As soon as he'd walked in the classroom, every girl in the room had been staring at him with the strangest looks. Several of them had even come up and attempted talking to him. Inuyasha had pretty much ignored them, scaring off all but the most persistent with his patented scowl. 'Maybe Kagome will explain it to me when she gets up here.'

They hadn't exactly agreed on a place to meet, but Inuyasha figured the roof was the reasonable choice. Before, when he'd met her at school, it'd been on the rooftop. Therefore, this was the most likely spot for her to find him.

'Wench is late though.' Inuyasha was just about to check his watch, when the door below him swung open. He crawled to the edge of the structure, prepared to scold the tardy girl. "About time, Kagome. What took you so… ah, who the hell are you?"

For it wasn't Kagome who had appeared, but someone else entirely. A boy, about the same age as Inuyasha, with short auburn hair turned to face the hanyou. His brown eyes carried a look of guileless innocence that Inuyasha recognized almost immediately.

"Akitoki?" But it couldn't be, especially when the boy frowned in confusion. It was further confirmed when the boy spoke.

"Ah, I'm sorry. You must have me confused for someone else. My name is Hojo."

Then it clicked. This was the ancestor of that bumbling idiot from Inuyasha's time. 'I remember Kagome saying something about knowing Akitoki's relative here. This must be him.' Inuyasha leapt down from his perch to size up this new challenge.

Hojo was just about his height, maybe an inch or two taller. Roughly the same build, slim and compact, but while Inuyasha carried coiled strength in his muscles, Hojo was more wiry than strong. The hanyou remembered, though it seemed ages ago, confronting this boy during one of Kagome's cultural festivals with sword in hand. He'd had to grudgingly admit that Hojo had a kind of idiotic bravery to _attempt_ standing up to him.

"Yeah, I remember you now," Inuyasha said. "At Kagome's festival a year or so ago. You were on-stage and I tried to-, um-"

"Steal the show?" Hojo offered with a lifted brow.

Inuyasha coughed. "Yeah, something like that."

"Don't worry about it." Hojo waved his hand dismissively. "The show was a great hit. The only thing that really bothered me was we never found out who rigged up those weird special effects."

"Hehheh, yeah," Inuyasha chuckled nervously. He also remembered that during the 'fight', one of the youkai he and Kagome had been pursuing decided to drop in. He, of course, had blasted the thing (along with half the gym) to smithereens. Then, with Kagome, had made a quick exit out the gaping hole in the roof.

"Hey." Inuyasha was brought back to reality by Hojo's voice. "You know I never caught your name. I mean I know you're a friend of Higurashi, but-"

"Inuyasha."

Hojo extended his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you. Formally, that is."

Inuyasha grinned back as he shook the boy's hand. This guy was all right.

After the (formal) introduction, the two teenagers sat on the roof and chatted for bit. Nothing specific, just generalities. How do you like the school, can you help me with this math problem, so on so forth. A few minutes passed and Inuyasha was beginning to get worried about Kagome again when the stairwell door slammed open once more.

"Hey, Inuyasha. Sorry I'm late. My teacher was being a total- Hojo?" Kagome screeched to a halt when she saw her hanyou and the Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Give-Up talking like they'd known each other for years. She edged closer and set her bag down, not quite sure what to do.

But Inuyasha did, fortunately. He leapt to his feet, rushed over to her, and delivered a quick peck to her cheek. He then began talking at high speed about his day so far. Kagome could only smile and nod, and wonder how the hell Inuyasha, the most jealous creature on the face of the planet, could become friends with her most adamant admirer. It boggled her mind.

"Kagome?"

Inuyasha's concerned voice broke through the haze of confusion. She shook her head slightly and smiled sweetly up at her hanyou. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I'm a little out of it. I can't believe you blew up a microscope." She giggled at the look on his face, part pout and part frown as he tried to figure out how exactly he blew the thing up. While he contemplated that, Kagome turned to Hojo, a bit on the wary side. The boy just smiled benignly up at her from his seat on the ground. "Hello Higurashi. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Hojo. And you?" she answered.

"I'm good. I was just having a chat with your boyfriend there. Apparently we're in the same class."

Kagome stared. 'Well, this is awkward.' She cleared her throat, "Ah, Hojo, I-"

He put up a hand to stop her. "It's all right. I don't mind. Not really, at any rate." He stood and brushed off the back of his pants with an air of dignity. "As long as you're happy, I'm good."

"Ah." Kagome didn't know what to say. Hojo, the guy who had been trying to get a single complete date from her since junior high, was giving her his blessing. 'This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.'

"Hey Inuyasha," Hojo called.

The hanyou pulled himself out of his reverie on exploding chemistry equipment and looked up. "Yeah?"

"I'll see you in class, okay? Don't be too late." Hojo winked suggestively, and then, after a quick wave to Kagome, he was gone.

Inuyasha sidled up to Kagome and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He then sat down, pulling her with him so that she was now sitting in his lap. She simply let herself lean back into the embrace and not think anymore. Her life had turned upside down the past twenty-four hours and all she wanted to do now was be in the arms of the man she loved. She closed her eyes and willed her mind off. Minutes passed before either of them said anything. Inuyasha was the first to speak.

"You know something?" he said, and Kagome turned her head to the side to look at him. "From what you've told me about him, I didn't think I'd like Hojo."

Kagome blinked in confusion. "What was it that I told you again?"

"That he was always bugging you to go out with him and giving you weird health presents." Inuyasha glanced down at her and smirked. "And that your friends were always trying to, I think the term was 'hook you guys up', or something like that."

"I told you that?" she squeaked as she felt her face burn. At his nod she buried her face in her hands and groaned, "I can't believe I said that."

Inuyasha just laughed. "Don't worry, koishi. I'm not jealous."

She jerked her head up. "You're not?" she asked incredulously.

"Nope."

She narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief. "All right, who are you and what have you done with Inuyasha?"

"No, really. I'm not jealous." He sighed when she gave a look that said 'yeah, right, whatever'. "I don't know how to explain it. I think maybe it's that I don't feel threatened by him."

"Anymore?" Kagome supplied.

He glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "Right. Anymore."

Finally satisfied, Kagome gave a brief nod and scrambled out of his lap to nab the lunches in her backpack. They only had about a half-hour left and she was starving. And since Inuyasha could be known as the Black Hole when it came to food, she'd made an especially large bento today, just for him. She handed him the box, which he immediately began scarfing down. Instead of asking if he liked the food, Kagome began to eat her own lunch. She didn't try to fish for compliments from Inuyasha anymore. Since that only seemed to make him complain more, she'd given up on that ages ago. Now she waited for him to offer them up of his own free will. And as a result they came more often. Although Kagome usually waved off the ones about her cooking, because could you really trust the taste buds of a man who thought instant ramen was the finest of delicacies? Not really.

Inuyasha finished his lunch before she was even half done, so he sprawled out on the concrete to get a little dozing in. Kagome finished her lunch shortly after and decided to join in on the nap. Pushing boxes and bags out of the way, she crawled over to the hanyou and lay her head on his stomach, her face turned towards his. She loved watching him sleep. He always looked so peaceful, not stressed or angry or depressed. And he seemed so much younger than he really was.

Kagome frowned slightly. There was something a little off about his appearance though. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. It didn't seem wrong, just off. Then it hit her. 'No ears.' This was his Taisho disguise, as she'd come to call it. His most remarkable features: the silver-white hair, golden-amber eyes, and adorable doggy ears were turned into the more human (aka boring) versions of themselves. Platinum blond hair, hazel eyes, and dull, round human ears. Unique (except for the ears) on a Japanese, but not unheard of. 'I wonder how he pulls off such a flawless disguise.' As far as she could tell, there was no wig, no contacts, and certainly no visible way to pin his ears back. In fact she could see the human ears underneath his hair. 'How is he doing it?'

She was just reaching her hand out to touch one of his ears, when another hand dropped down onto her head. Startled, she looked up to see Inuyasha's amused expression aimed at her.

"Ah-"

"You want to know how I'm doing it, don't you?" Her cheeks flushed red, Kagome shyly nodded. "Okay." Inuyasha moved to sit up, which forced Kagome to sit up as well. "Give me your hand."

She extended her hand and he guided it up to the top of his head where his ears would normally be. Kagome gave him a confused glance until she felt the fuzzy appendages she was so used to. However, when she looked up, she was grasping nothing an inch above his head. And yet she could still feel the warmth of the ear and she could feel the fur covering it, too.

"You can let go now."

The dry humor in Inuyasha's voice snapped Kagome out of her shock. "But how?"

"Illusion. It's only sight though. If you tried to touch the human ears, you'd get nothing," he explained.

Kagome gave him a slightly exasperated look. "That explains what it is, but I asked how are you doing this?"

Inuyasha blushed a little in embarrassment. "Sorry. Here, I'll show you." He reached for the watch that Kagome was only just noticing. As soon as the device was removed, his Taisho disguise vanished and Inuyasha was Inuyasha again.

Kagome was suitably impressed. "Wow. That's cool. Where did you get it?"

Inuyasha shrugged as he replaced the watch. "Sesshoumaru gave it to me. He also gave one to- uh, I mean he gave it to me when I first got here. I spent hours messing around with it after I learned how to use it. I can change my appearance whenever I feel like it."

Kagome hadn't missed the almost slip. 'That's the second time today. What's he hiding?' Then the last thing Inuyasha said caught up with her. "Wait a minute. You can switch how you look _anytime_ you want? Is that how that dog got in my room? It was you?"

The sheepish expression on his face ('That's a very odd look for him.') told her all she needed to know. 'I see. I guess that makes more sense than him actually turning into a dog.' Since Inuyasha was obviously waiting for her reaction, Kagome just shrugged indifferently. At that small gesture, he relaxed and went on to tell her about all the spells and whatnot that were on the watch.

All too soon though, the warning bell to get back to class rang. Inuyasha and Kagome packed up their stuff and were just about to leave, when Inuyasha suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

He frowned slightly. "I wanted to ask you something."

Kagome frowned as well. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really," he said as he shook his head. "I was just curious."

She was starting to get tired of this beating around the bush, but Kagome held her temper. "About what?"

"Girls."

"Huh?" That wasn't what she expected.

"Yeah, the girls in my class were acting really weird." Inuyasha scratched his head in thought. "When the teacher introduced me, they seemed to get really excited. And they kept trying to talk to me during class. Most of them stopped though after I lit some girl's hair on fire."

That last statement froze the rampaging and somewhat murderous thoughts going through her head. "You lit someone's hair on fire?"

"It was an accident and only part of her hair was singed."

Kagome sighed. "Well, anyway. About those other girls, I have an idea to get them to back off. Come on." She then proceeded to escort Inuyasha down to his classroom.

Once they were outside the door, Kagome took his bag from him. When he tried to take it back, she simply shooed him into the room with a promise that he'd get it in a second. Inuyasha cast one last worried gaze over his shoulder, then made his way to his desk. As soon as he sat down, one member of the gaggle of girls already there detached herself from the group and sidled up to the hanyou. Kagome was almost seeing red at the way the girl was practically draping herself over Inuyasha, who kept darting glances that screamed 'help me' to where Kagome was. However, she was waiting for the right moment and when the girl leaned over to write her phone number on Inuyasha's hand, Kagome made her move.

"Sweetie!" she called loudly, which caused both Inuyasha and the skank sitting on his desk to look up. "You forgot your backpack, darling." When she reached the desk, Kagome placed the bag on the top and used its bulk to push the girl off the surface. Then, without missing a beat, she swooped down and gave Inuyasha the biggest kiss ever. The poor hanyou hadn't expected that, but than again, Kagome didn't really think he minded. After a few seconds of mouth-to-mouth (breathing for each other and all that), she pulled away and then pretended to have just noticed the ditz by the desk.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. I was just returning my boyfriend's bag to him. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Kagome smiled the sweetest smile she could muster and not hurt her face. The girl (whose name was Mari judging by how much she'd written on Inuyasha's hand) was staring with her mouth wide open, perfect for catching flies. She finally managed to collect what little wits she had and stammer something resembling an apology, before slinking off to rejoin her friends.

Kagome turned back to Inuyasha, who was just as slack-jawed as Mari had been. "Close your mouth, dear," she whispered to him. "You look like a fish." Then with a peck to his cheek and a 'see you after school', Kagome waved good-bye to Hojo (who was trying not to laugh his ass off) in the back of the room and headed off to her own class.


	13. No Matter What

A/N: Finally! It's done! I know it's been forever and a day, but luckily I was inspired today. And thus, a new chapter for you all to read. Enjoy!

P.S.- Please go read my newly updated story, YinYang. I promise it's much better than before. But Istill cravefeedback.

Remember: I love Inuyasha but unfortunately do not own him. When do you think he'll be put up on e-bay?

Reminder: I love hearing what you guys think. Questions and comments are welcome.

**Chapter Thirteen: No Mater What**

Kagome stared at the chalkboard and tried to make sense of the notes she was copying down. After a few minutes, the only thing she knew for certain was that she hated math.

'Stupid formulas, stupid triangles,' she grumbled mentally. She glanced up at the clock high on the wall. Twenty minutes remained of the school day and Kagome sorely wanted out of there. Groaning softly, she thumped her forehead against her desk.

Shifting her neck so she could gaze out the window, Kagome wondered how Inuyasha was doing now. She giggled to herself when she thought about how she dealt with the Ho From Hell. 'I am so not going to forget the look on any of their faces for a long time. Especially Inuyasha.' The memory of the bewildered hanyou, unsure of what the hell his girlfriend thought she was doing, was too much and Kagome burst out laughing.

"Higurashi." Unfortunately, she was still in class. "If you feel the need to not pay attention, please stand in the hall."

Flushed with embarrassment, Kagome mumbled a quiet "sorry" and stood up. As she was walking to the door, her friend Ayumi caught her eye. Ayumi winked at her and, when Kagome passed her desk, slipped her a wad of paper. 'At least I'll have some reading material," Kagome thought, sliding the door open and stepping into the hall.

The hallway was quiet; the vague murmurings coming from closed off classrooms the only real sound. Kagome crossed to the row of windows lining the opposite side of the hall and pulled one open. A slight breeze ruffled the girl's hair and birds sang out to one another. Leaning against the casement, she closed her eyes and turned her face up to allow the sun to warm her. It was a beautiful day. Clear skies with only little whispies of clouds floating by. The sound of nearby traffic was muted, only barely audible. Kagome watched as kids from the school across the street played in their playground, their shouts only adding to the tranquility of the afternoon.

'Man, everything seems so much nicer now,' she thought. 'Not as crowded or polluted as before.' Of course the world was still the same, it was Kagome who had changed. She had read, in silly romance novels, how the world could take on a rosy hue after finding your 'true love', but she'd never really believed it. In fact, she'd only read the stupid, gushy, soft-porn novella because there had been nothing else to read. Now, she wasn't quite sure what to think. 'God, I hope I wasn't as sappy as some of those girls can get.' Horrified that she might have been, Kagome reviewed her actions over the past day.

'Okay, good,' she thought in relief, hand against her heart, glad that she hadn't reacted like any of those stereotyped goose-girl heroines. The crinkle and prick of something in her hand drew her attention downward. 'Ayumi's note.' Kagome exposed the intricately folded letter. A brow rose at the sight of a crane/flower/bear/whatever the hell it was. "Doesn't she have something better to do then origami the hell out of note paper?" she muttered, frustrated as she tried to undo her friend's handiwork without tearing the paper.

Finally, after an age it seemed, the note was ready to be read. Kagome glanced up quickly to make sure there was nobody (especially teachers) around. Satisfied that there wasn't, she read on.

Hey Kagome.

Sorry about this morning. You know how Yuka and Eri get at the thought of new gossip. They would've apologized at lunch but you ran off so quickly. Had to meet up with your boyfriend huh? Wink wink. JK. Hey, why don't both of you come with us to Wac's after school? Unless you've got something better planned. I promise to sit on the others so they don't jump your boy. Though I don't blame them. I mean, we've heard loads about him but haven't actually talked with him much. Plus, he's hot! Anyway, let me know when school gets out, k? I've got clean up duty. Again.

TTFN,

Ayumi.

'Hmm, this could be interesting.' Kagome wondered if Inuyasha would think so too. She soon lost herself in imagining all the different ways such a gathering could go wrong.

The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted her cheerful musings. Kagome glanced to both ends of the hallway yet saw nothing. The footsteps were definitely coming closer but they were somehow muffled, like someone was walking on the other side of the classroom wall. Since that was impossible, thanks to the nice solid dividing walls between classes, Kagome was stumped. 'What the heck?' She swiveled her head around one more time, but still no evidence of a living being treading the hall.

A shiver rolled down her spine. There were always stories running around school about the various ghosts and spirits haunting the place. Kagome had never put much faith in those tall-tales. That was until she fell into a well leading back to feudal Japan where demons and ghosts ran amuck. Now she was a firm believer in all things supernatural. And especially since Kaede had trained her to be a miko. Calming and purifying evil spirits was just part of her job description now.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her physical eyes and opened her inner eye just as she had been taught. The world shifted from its natural hues and shapes into streaks of color. Kagome expanded her awareness further. Flashes of red, blue, and yellow told her of the emotions her fellow students were feeling. Anger, sadness, and fear were predominant, but bubbles of bright pink, happiness, over powered the individual negative emotions. Kagome 'looked' around, searching for the sickly yellow-green color that signified an angry spirit.

The footsteps had stopped right before they'd reached her, so she was going on feeling alone. There was a familiar tint to the air that she couldn't quite place, a silvery aura that she'd felt somewhere before. A look of confusion crossed her face as a light breeze lifted her hair up and over her shoulder. The gentle pressing of lips against the nape of her neck sent Kagome flying a foot in the air and a most undignified squeak past her lips. Eyes now wide open, she spun around and ended up face-to-face with a smirking hanyou.

"You jerk!" she whispered/yelled, smacking him over the head as hard as she could. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Arms still protecting his invisible and sensitive ears, Inuyasha merely grinned at her. "Sorry. I was standing outside my social studies class just down the hall when I caught your scent."

"And you thought you'd come freak me out?" Kagome threw her hands up in frustration, but was hard-pressed to keep the answering grin off her face. "What am I supposed to do with you, koishi?"

Inuyasha lowered his arms, confident that he'd been forgiven, and answered cockily, "Buy me a present?" Kagome took a mock swing at his head, but her hanyou was too quick and pulled her into an embrace. Leaning over to touch his forehead to hers, a ritual she was fast becoming accustomed to, he whispered seductively, "But I'll settle for a kiss."

A shiver of a different sort swept over her and she closed her eyes again, all too aware of his presence and the fact that they were making out in the hallway. Her inner eye snuck open and registered that the silvery aura she'd felt before was Inuyasha's. Kagome smirked to herself. He would never be able to sneak up on her again.

An eternity, or maybe just a few seconds, later, Kagome's mind picked up on something Inuyasha had said earlier. Breaking their lip-lock, she pulled back and tapped her hanyou on the shoulder. He blearily opened his beautiful hazel eyes and blinked down at the girl in his arms. Kagome's breath hitched slightly at the muted passion in his gaze. Swallowing the lump that had somehow wedged itself in her throat, she slid away from his warmth and faced the still open window. Placing her arms against the sill, Kagome leaned out the window, allowing a light breeze to cool her flaming cheeks and help her think straight again.

A solid body positioned itself next to her. A sidelong glance showed her Inuyasha's back. She cleared her throat. "So, why were you in the hall?"

He shrugged. "Nothing big. Teacher caught me talking with Hojo." He cocked his head to the side, his hair falling over Kagome's shoulder. "Come to think of it, he's still standing back there."

Kagome grabbed a lock of his errant hair and held it in front of her nose. Even this close up, she could only see the illusionary blond. Something else occurred to her to ask. Waving the tuft of hair under her nose, she asked, "How did you sneak up on me? Did you use your watch?"

He turned around, somehow managing not to pull the hair out of Kagome's grasp, and leaned out the window with her. "Nah. I just walked along the ledge here." He pointed down at the two-foot ledge that ran right underneath the window. 'At least that explains the footsteps,' Kagome thought.

DING! DONG! DING! The school bell suddenly rang, announcing the end of the day.

"Oops," said Inuyasha. "I've gotta get back and get my stuff. Wait for me here?" he asked, pushing away from the window.

"Sure," Kagome answered, copying his movement. The sound of crinkling paper under her foot reminded her of Ayumi's note which she had dropped when Inuyasha startled her. "Hey!"

He turned from halfway down the hall and jogged back. "What's up?"

"Ayumi-chan wants us to go with her, Yuka-chan, and Eri-chan to WacDonald's today. You up for it?" She grinned evilly up at him. "Or are four schoolgirls too much for the mighty hanyou?"

Inuyasha frowned humorously at her. "Very funny, koishi." He swooped down for a quick kiss. "But remember, I still have to show you the rest of your birthday present," he practically purred. Then he was gone.

Kagome furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment, paying no attention to the flow of students leaving for the day. Slowly comprehension dawned on her as she remembered what he had said that morning. 'He can't really mean _that_, can he?' she thought despairingly. 'Then it really will be like some trashy romance novel.' She clasped her hands to her face, feeling the blood rush back to her cheeks. "Nooooo," she moaned, earning a few strange looks from the stragglers in the hall. Completely ignoring those looks, Kagome rushed into her classroom to get some much needed advice from her friend.

* * *

A few minutes later, Kagome exited her class feeling no better than when she'd gone in. Ayumi had been helping put desks and chairs up for the night and Yuka and Eri were sitting in the corner gossiping (as usual). As soon as she'd entered, the two girls had basically attacked her, spewing apologies and random quips left and right. It took a minute to calm them down long enough to tell them that she and Inuyasha wouldn't be able to go for food today. That set off another round of questions. When she said that she was going over to his house instead, both Yuka and Eri got identical looks on their faces. The look said 'Ooo, someone's gonna be a bad girl'. Kagome was flustered enough thinking about what might or might not happen later with Inuyasha, so she did not need that look from two of her best friends.

She was trying to shake off the feeling of impending doom, when Ayumi chimed in with "Give the girl a break. It was her birthday yesterday, so they probably just want to go out on a date by themselves." Kagome managed to be both relieved and frustrated at the same time. On one hand, Yuka and Eri were no longer looking like disapproving mother hens, but on the other, now they were completely okay with her going off alone with Inuyasha.

Kagome sighed heavily. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with him. It was just that she hadn't really been alone with him since the big relationship change had happened. In her room and up on the school's roof didn't count because there was always the possibility of someone 'interrupting' them. At his house, it would just be the two of them. Or so she thought. She didn't know a lot about Inuyasha's living arrangements with his brother. For all she knew, Sesshoumaru worked from home and was there all the time.

The tension in her shoulders eased up a bit at the thought. 'Yeah, maybe he was just joking with me earlier. Besides, Inuyasha isn't the type of guy who's always thinking of _that_,' she reassured herself. But there was still a part of her that worried about it. That little piece of skeptical mind required her to ask Inuyasha where Sesshoumaru would be when they got to his house.

"Hey, you ready?" Inuyasha practically bounced down the hallway, eager to be on the way.

"Yeah." Kagome picked up her pack where she'd left it by her feet and slung it over both shoulders. Inuyasha offered her his hand, which she took, and led her down the hall.

They walked together in comfortable silence for a few minutes before she finally got up enough courage to ask her all-important question.

"Ne, Inuyasha?"

The hanyou didn't slow in the least. He just cocked his head a little to the side to show he was listening.

"Um, is-" Her voice cracked so she wet her lips and tried again. "Is Sesshoumaru going to at your house when we get there? I'd like to see what he's like now. Him and Rin-chan."

Inuyasha snorted softly and shook his head. "Nah, he won't be there. He's usually stays at his office until late anyway."

"Oh." Kagome's hopes sank slightly. Then she perked back up. "But surely Rin-"

He grasped her fingers tighter and pulled her up level with him. Once she was right next to him, he released her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Rin probably won't be there either. Besides," he flashed her a smirk, "they don't live in the same place I do." His grin widened at the look of shock on her face. He leaned down to put his mouth by her ear and whispered, "That means we've got the place to ourselves, koishi. And I plan to make the most of that."

Kagome felt the blood drain from her face, but Inuyasha didn't notice. "Come on," he said. "We can get there faster this way." Only then did Kagome realize that he had taken them up to the roof.

He fiddled with his watch for a second and suddenly Inuyasha was himself again. Silvery hair, golden eyes, claws, fangs, and puppy ears. He stretched his arms above his head and Kagome couldn't help but stare. The muscles moving beneath the white button-down he wore under his unbuttoned uniform jacket held her entranced. 'Maybe this won't be as bad as I think,' she thought, still watching him stretch out. He finished his warm-up exercises and turned to Kagome, who blushed and tried to pretend she hadn't been staring.

She was so busy looking everywhere but at him that she didn't notice the soft smile that replaced his usual smirk. A quiet 'Oi' brought her attention back to Inuyasha. He was crouched down in front of her, his patented pose for carting her around.

"Well, you coming or not?"

She grinned at the slightly gruff tone of voice he used. Some things never change. Inuyasha would always be Inuyasha, no matter how their relationship changed. Finding a new wellspring of confidence with that thought, Kagome stepped towards her hanyou.

She grabbed his backpack that he'd left on the ground, because it made more sense for her to carry the unwieldy thing than for him to carry it and her. Placing her hands atop his shoulders, Kagome whispered in his ear, "Ready when you are, love." She then kissed the furry appendage, causing it to twitch. She giggled softly at the movement and heard a quiet "shut up, wench" from Inuyasha. This only received another giggle from the girl.

Suddenly they were air-born. Kagome gasped. She hadn't even felt Inuyasha grab her behind her knees and leap off of the building. Her surprise was quickly replaced with exhilaration. Wind whipping through her hair, the impression of flight, and knowing that, no matter what happened, Inuyasha would never drop her. Kagome closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling of freedom. No longer restricted to the ground, she could soar with the birds.

"It's been too long since we last did this." Inuyasha's casual comment, thrown over his shoulder, caused her to laugh.

"Yes. Yes, it has," was her answer when the slightly giddy sound finished. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She felt him chuckle and grasp her legs more tightly. Kagome sighed and a contented feeling swept over her. She knew that everything would turn out all right. No matter what.


	14. High Rise Expectations

A/N: Guess what? This is the second to last chapter. Yay! I'm almost done. Not that I didn't enjoy writing this story, but finally!

Inuyasha is not mine. And my brain has melted from headache and sickness and so on.

I love reviews. They make me feel fuzzy. Also any questions you can e-mail if you want.

**Chapter Fourteen: High-Rise Expectations**

The ride ended sooner than Kagome anticipated. Pulling herself out of the stupor that the rushing wind and sense of comfort had lulled her into, Kagome glanced around. She was vaguely surprised to see that they had landed on the roof of a high-rise apartment building. She had been expecting a nice traditional style house in one of the less populated areas, with lots of privacy and plenty of trees for the hanyou to lounge in. Not a gleaming steel and glass, thirty-something story skyscraper crammed full of Tokyo citizens.

Running a hand through her wind tousled hair, Kagome mentally shrugged. Whatever. If Inuyasha was cool with it, so was she.

"Come on." Kagome turned to see Inuyasha standing next to the roof access door. He was holding out his hand for her to take, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth obviously entertained at her reaction to his housing choice. But it was really the glint in his amber eyes that made her pause. A flicker of amusement and eagerness heated his gaze and caused a curl of anxiety to twist Kagome's stomach into knots.

At her hesitation, Inuyasha cocked his head to the side with a puzzled look on his face. It was so cute that Kagome was able to calm her nerves and offer up a smile to her hanyou. Shouldering her pack and grasping Inuyasha's in her other hand, she crossed to him.

"Is everything okay?" he asked when she handed him his bag.

She nodded. "Fine. It's just not where I expected you would choose to live."

Kagome giggled when Inuyasha scrunched up his nose and flattened his ears marginally. "Yeah. Sesshoumaru is the one who picked the place, not me."

"Oh? But why here?"

Inuyasha shrugged as he swung the door open and gestured for her to go before him. She slipped into the dim stairwell and he followed, tugging the door shut behind him. Another lurch of uneasiness hit Kagome in the gut. She was getting closer to- 'No, don't think,' she scolded herself. She watched Inuyasha fit his pack on his back and took a deep breath. 'It'll be okay,' she thought. 'Just remember that he would never hurt you.' She felt a warm smile spread over her face at the thought. He looked up in time to catch it and grinned back at her.

"Come on," he said again, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the stairs.

"Which floor do you live on?" Kagome asked.

"Um, it's basically the top floor."

She quirked a brow. "Basically?"

His mouth and an ear twitched slightly. "Well, it has two floors."

Both eyebrows hit the ceiling. "Really?" Kagome had only heard of two-leveled apartments in magazines about celebrity homes.

Inuyasha just nodded. "Yeah."

"Cool."

He shrugged, unimpressed. "I guess. Here we are."

They had hit the second floor down from the roof. Inuyasha pulled this door open and let Kagome go through first. The hall she walked into was as bright as the stairwell had been dark. Sage green carpeting accented the cream colored walls and beautiful Monet prints were hanging along the hall. Glancing to the right showed a pair of elevator doors at the end of the corridor. There was another door, presumably to an apartment, between the roof access and the elevators. To the left, the hallway continued down past two more doors and around the corner.

Kagome drew in a deep breath and the scent of 'brand-new building'. Turning to face Inuyasha, she asked, "So, which way?" He pointed to the left and proceeded down the hall. As they passed the two apartments, Kagome noticed that there were nameplates under each peephole. Naturally, she didn't recognize the names on the first two plates, but as they rounded the corner and came upon a third door, she read the name 'Taisho'.

Stopping in front of the door, she asked, "Hey, Inuyasha?" He halted and swiveled his head back towards her, his raised brow asking his question. "Isn't this you? Taisho?"

Confusion crossed his face quickly before Inuyasha shook his head. "No, that's Sesshoumaru's. Mine's next door."

"Ah." Suddenly Sesshoumaru's choice of housing made sense. He wanted to keep an eye on his younger brother (everyone coos). She continued on to the door Inuyasha was now standing in front of, searching his pack for keys. Kagome peered over his shoulder to read the name on his door. It said 'Taisho' just like his brother's, but there was another name scribbled underneath it.

"Who's this 'Hirai' person? A roommate?"

Inuyasha looked up from his search. "Huh?"

"Who's this?" Kagome asked again, reaching over to point out the name on the plaque. Inuyasha followed her finger to where it rested. Comprehension dawned on him finally. "Oh. That's, um, yeah, roommate, uh-" As he hemmed and hawed around his answer, Kagome got angrier and angrier. This was the third time today that Inuyasha had tried to slip out of telling her something and she was getting sick of it. It was time for him to come clean.

"Inuyasha, I know you're hiding something."

The hanyou sighed and turned to face the fuming girl, a falsely bright smile on his face. "I'm not hiding anything, Kagome. What makes you think I am?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and quirked a brow. The look said 'you're joking, right?' loud and clear. "Oh I don't know, Inuyasha. Maybe the fact that you can't seem to come up with a good answer to my question. Or maybe it's the fact that I've known you for two years and can tell when you're lying to me."

Inuyasha's ear twitched. He knew he was busted. He sighed heavily and ran a clawed hand nervously through his hair. "I don't suppose you'd believe that it's a surprise?" One look proved him right. There was no way she'd buy that excuse, even if it were the truth. He sighed again. "Look. I know what it seems like, but I need you to trust me about this, okay?"

He watched as his words sank into the girl's mind and her face softened. She uncrossed her arms to fidget with the hem of her shirt. "Alright, koishi. I trust you." She gave him a tentative smile and he leaned down to kiss her, a soft brush of lips that sent both of them shivering. Inuyasha pulled back and grinned down at her.

"Now," he said, turning back to the door, "where are those damn keys?"

He found them a moment later, hiding in one of his textbooks. After unlocking the door, Inuyasha pushed it open and entered his apartment. He kicked off his shoes, glad for the chance to get out of the horrible things. Of all the things he had to get used to in this time, wearing shoes was definitely the worst. Tossing his keys onto the hall table and his bag on the floor, Inuyasha turned to watch Kagome. She was taking off her shoes and slipping into a pair of guest slippers left to the side of the shoe pit. Her backpack was sitting next to his and she was glancing around.

"Wow" was all she said.

The apartment was huge. The entryway opened up into the most amazing space Kagome had ever seen. Pine floors led the way into the living room and dining room. Curtains covered the walls lining the living room, which was of the sunken variety with three short steps leading to the matching black leather sofa and love seat. A big-screen TV had been placed against a small half wall that separated the living and dining rooms. A simple, yet elegant chandelier hung over a sleek black dining table surrounded by six chairs. Papers were strewn across the glossy surface of the table as if someone had been there moments before and had just left. 'Must be that 'Hirai' person,' Kagome thought, as she explored the apartment.

The kitchen was located right next to the dining room with a side bar set between the two rooms. Black marble counter tops and silver accents gave the space an ultra modern style. All the essentials were there. The largest refrigerator Kagome had ever seen, electric stove, and high-tech oven, followed by every other appliance she could think of and quite a few that she couldn't even name, much less know what they were for. Figuring that she might as well start finding her way around, Kagome began opening and shutting cabinet doors.

"What are you looking for?" Inuyasha asked as he hopped up on the counter to watch her.

She pulled open one more cupboard and found what she was searching for. She held her prize aloft. "A glass," she said, taking the dish over to sink and filling it with water. "I'm thirsty."

"Ah" was all he said.

Kagome glanced around. "So, Inuyasha?" He cocked his head inquiringly. "How many of these cabinets are stuffed with instant ramen?"

The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest and huffed defensively. "I'll have you know that none of these cabinets have any ramen in them."

She arched a disbelieving brow at him. There was no way that Inuyasha would live in this time and not have stocked up on his favorite ninja food. She was just opening her mouth to say so, when Inuyasha quietly added, "That's what the pantry's for."

And to prove his point, he jumped off the counter and crossed over to a door next to the fridge and swung it open. Kagome craned her head around the corner and was confronted with the entire stock of instant ramen from three grocery stores. She blinked for a couple of seconds before finally dissolving into laughter. Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently while he waited for her to regain her composure.

At last, Kagome's laughter petered out and she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, Inuyasha. But that was just so funny."

"Keh," he snorted, his anger belied by the tiny smirk that played over his lips. "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the apartment." Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the kitchen.

The remainder of the downstairs tour consisted of a library/office, a small guest room, and the balcony surrounding the living space. The view off the balcony was gorgeous to say the least. Kagome could just imagine sitting on one of the lawn chairs that had been set up and watching the sunset. Sunset had always been one of her favorite times of day and the corner lot apartment was a perfect spot to relax and enjoy the beautiful colors.

She sighed and closed her eyes, relishing the cool wind on her face. A warm weight settled over her shoulders and Kagome snuggled into her hanyou's embrace. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Inuyasha nudged her back inside for the rest of the tour.

They rounded the sunken area and crossed to the stairs that led to the second level. Inuyasha explained that there were four bedrooms, three upstairs and the guest room downstairs. The master bedroom was situated over the kitchen and a medium sized room was next to it, with a bathroom on the opposite side. The third room was right at the top of the stairs and was of smaller dimensions. This room was Inuyasha's.

"But why aren't you in the master bedroom?" Kagome asked, slightly puzzled.

He shrugged. "Don't need that much space. Besides," here he smirked a bit, "the Hirai's need it more than I do."

She glanced at him questioningly. "You have two roommates?"

"More like four."

"Four?"

"Yeah. There's the man and the woman," he ticked them off on his fingers, "her brother, and their adopted son."

"Oh," was all Kagome said. She did find it odd that Inuyasha should have _any_ roommates, much less four of them. 'But I suppose Sesshoumaru must trust them to let them live here.' Her thoughts were interrupted by Inuyasha swinging open his door. He trotted in and Kagome was left to follow.

The room was plain enough. White walls, a decent sized window, and a basic closet, which Inuyasha was now rooting around in. A full bed was centered under the window and covered in red sheets. Kagome smiled to herself at the bright color. There was a small dresser in the corner and on it was a sword stand. And, of course, the Tetsusaiga was on the stand. It was still as ratty as ever, but it somehow seemed even more antique now that it was on display.

She padded over to the sword and ran a careful hand over its sheath. She remembered all the times this sword (and its owner) had saved her life. Kagome hoped that the fang would never need to be used again, but she knew that she would miss seeing it in action. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Inuyasha creep up behind her. She jumped when he cleared his throat.

"Gah. Don't do that."

"Sorry," he shrugged. "I'm going to go change." He held up the jeans and tee shirt that he'd unearthed from his closet. "I'll be right back." She nodded and he gave her a quick peck on the cheek before he exited.

Kagome turned and flopped down on the bed. Now that her heart wasn't racing, her mind began to run circles around one fact. She was in Inuyasha's bedroom. That in itself had many interesting connotations, the least of which was that her hanyou now had a home. She knew that he had never had a physical home since his mother had died, so this was a pretty big deal. Or that's the way she saw it. Kagome had no idea what Inuyasha thought of that idea or that his much detested elder brother had been the one to provide the structure. 'Definitely something to be talked about later,' she thought.

A yawn suddenly overtook the girl and she indulged in a bit of good stretching. This caused her eye to catch something that she had somehow missed earlier. There was a beautiful wooden folding panel leaning up against the wall almost hidden by the bed. It was ancient, that much she could tell. Some of the gold paint was flaking off, but that didn't subtract from artistry of the piece.

Kagome sat up and edged closer to the panel. At the bottom she could make what appeared to be a battlefield. And just above that there was a large four-legged shape. She scooted a little forward to get a better look. The colors had faded to pale golds, browns, and grays, but Kagome was able to see that the figure was that of an enormous dog. A soft gasp escaped her as she realized that this was a painting of the Great Dog Demon, Inuyasha's father.

She whirled around as the door creaked open and Inuyasha walked back in, now dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a white tee. He noticed where she was sitting and what she had been studying. His eyes widened slightly, more in surprise than anything else.

"Ah. I see you found it." Kagome nodded dumbly. Inuyasha crossed to her side and gazed down at the picture, some emotion softening his expression. "Sesshoumaru gave it to me. When I moved in." He swallowed harshly, as if he was holding something back. "He thought I might like to have it." She slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He returned the gesture. "Sometimes I don't know how to handle the change in our … relationship."

"Just take it as it comes, koishi. That's the best you can do."

He raised his eyes to meet hers. There was gratitude and fear there, along with the loving undertone that she was beginning to be more familiar with. They were leaning in for a kiss, when Kagome distinctly heard a door slamming downstairs and a voice calling through the house. Inuyasha's head whipped around, his hair swishing against her arm. He turned back towards her almost immediately.

"Can you stay up here for a minute?"

She blinked. Than nodded, adding a smile showing that she understood. A quick upturn of his lips was his reply and, with another squeeze of her hand, he was out the door again, clicking it shut behind him.

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	15. Finale

A/N: Last chapter. No more after this. At least I don't think so.

Brain melted and no own Inuyasha.

E-mails and reviews are my friends.

**Chapter Fifteen: Finale**

Creeping to the door, Kagome placed an ear against the wood and tried to hear what was going on downstairs. Whoever had entered the apartment obviously had a key, so it was probably one of Inuyasha's roommates. Quelling the excitement and apprehension that swelled at that thought, Kagome turned her attention back to the door.

Unfortunately, she didn't have Inuyasha's hearing. All she was able to make out was a muffled noise that sounded vaguely like her hanyou and another that sounded vaguely male. As she listened, the two muffles were joined by a third and a fourth. One was slightly higher pitched and led Kagome to think that its owner was one of the younger residents. The other was harder to make out and finally, after straining her brain to its limit, she conceded defeat. She would just have to wait until Inuyasha came back.

Or did she? Kagome decided that it was all well and good for Inuyasha to try and keep her from finding anything out, but really, the operative word there was try. So she tiptoed over to the door and rotated the knob as slowly as she could. The click when the door finally opened seemed impossibly loud, and she flinched. There was no change in the voices downstairs. Sighing in relief, Kagome began to pull the door ajar. That's when her luck dropped out.

The hinges creaked and there was a falter in the conversation. A beat of silence than she distinctly heard Inuyasha hiss, "Hide!". Knowing that she was caught, Kagome gave up her pretense and exited the room just in time for Inuyasha to reach the top of the stairs.

The hanyou was clearly annoyed. "I thought I asked you stay in there."

His tone grated on Kagome's last nerve. She fixed her hands on her hips and glared at the boy for all she was worth. A glimmer of satisfaction shot through her when his ears flattened back in a wince. "Well, yes, you did, but I'm getting tired of waiting."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue the point, but snapped it shut at her pointed glance down at his rosary. Sighing heavily and running a hand through his hair, he gave in. "Alright. Come on downstairs. You can meet my roommates."

Feeling triumphant at her victory, Kagome trotted down the stairs in front of the hanyou. However, upon reaching the bottom, she found no new people to meet. She turned and looked questioningly at Inuyasha.

The slight smirk that was on his face was incredibly irritating. "What?" she demanded.

"Oh nothing," was the reply. "Just do me a little favor first."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"Close your eyes."

Bemused, but curious, Kagome did as he asked. She felt him gesture to someone behind her and after a moment, he told her she could open her eyes. "Now turn around."

Still wondering what the hell he was smirking at, she spun on her heel. And came face to face with the last people she had expected to see. Her knees gave out on her, but before she could hit the ground, Inuyasha had caught her and set her down on the stairs.

"Kagome-chan, are you okay?"

Kagome heard her name and looked at the person who had spoken it. "Sango-chan?" she asked tentatively.

The former demon slayer beamed at the still stunned schoolgirl. "Yes, it's me."

A familiar weight landed on her knee and Kagome switched her gaze to a pair of startling green eyes. "Shippou-chan?"

The kitsune peered up into her face, his expression concerned. She rested a hand on top of his red hair in a reassuring gesture and the kit sighed happily and hugged her tightly.

"Well, Kagome-sama, I must say you are looking quite well."

The third and final person grinned at her over the heads of the other two. Kagome shook off the last of her shock and grinned back at the young man. "It's good to see you, too, Miroku-sama."

The next few minutes passed in a blur of hugs, laughs, and not a few slaps. After the initial frenzy, Kagome found herself sitting on the couch in the living room next to Sango with a happy Shippou in her lap and Kirara, who had emerged from wherever she had been hiding earlier, was curled up between them. They were busy catching up on everything that had happened since the last time they'd seen each other. When Kagome had learned of Sango's marriage to Miroku, the teasing had been relentless.

"And we've adopted Shippou as well," the demon slayer said, her face still bright red from embarrassment.

"Yeah, Inuyasha mentioned something about that earlier. He also said something about a brother," Kagome asked. "I'm guessing you brought Kohaku-kun with you than."

Sango nodded, her expression a mixture of sadness and hope. "Yes, he's here. He's actually at a counseling session right now, but he'll be back later."

"Counseling?" Kagome cocked her head to the side. "For the memory loss and all, right?"

Her friend nodded again. "Kohaku's actually doing really well here."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Did you know it was actually Inuyasha's idea to have Kohaku do the counseling?"

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm glad he thought of it." Sango murmured. "I'm not sure what would have happened back in our time, but here he has a chance."

"Yeah, he does," Kagome agreed. She glanced over to where Inuyasha and Miroku were arguing over the operation of some appliance in the kitchen. "Um, excuse me would you?" She passed Shippou off to Sango and trotted over to the boys.

"I'm telling you that's not how it works."

"Nonsense, Inuyasha. How else could it work?"

"Whatever, Miroku."

"Whatcha guys fighting about?" she interrupted.

Both guys looked over at her. The object of the argument was sitting between them on the counter. It was a blender. Kagome quickly suppressed a snort of laughter before plastering an inquisitive expression on her face. Inuyasha made a point of not watching, while Miroku basically pounced on her.

"Ah, Kagome-sama! Maybe you can help us. We were just discussing how this contraption works." Inuyasha snorted. The monk ignored him and gestured towards the appliance.

She debated on whether or not she should give careful and detailed instructions to the monk on how to operate the machine. However the potential for mayhem was too strong and Kagome had always believed that experience was the best teacher of all.

"Well, Miroku-sama, what you do is take a bunch of fruit, ice, and milk, put them all into the blender and push a button." She spread her hands in a 'that's all' gesture. "And poof, instant drink."

Miroku practically crowed with his new information. "See, I told you, Inuyasha. You don't need that silly looking lid at all."

The hanyou had opened his mouth to reply when Kagome stepped on his foot. It didn't hurt but he glared at her all the same. Instead of glaring back, she just smiled mischievously. Then she jerked her head towards the patio/balcony. Understanding her meaning, the hanyou nodded and followed her outside.

The sun was just beginning to set and the sky was streaked with pastels. The clouds were painted pink and purple, while the sky itself was soft green and blue. Kagome leaned against the railing and Inuyasha did the same. Moments of comfortable silence passed before she spoke.

"Sango-chan told me that you suggested the therapy for Kohaku-kun."

He shrugged, flushing slightly with embarrassment. "Keh. It was actually your idea. I just passed it on."

She angled her head so that she could look at him. "No, it was you that made the connection. I only provided the basic information."

Inuyasha huffed again, still not quite convinced of his good deed. He tried another approach. "Well, it was also the best way to get her to come to this time." Kagome frowned, confused. "I had to talk them into coming a bit. Shippou jumped at the chance, but they took some convincing."

She nodded and turned back to face the sunset. More silence passed and Inuyasha began to worry that he shouldn't have said that last bit. He was about to apologize when he felt Kagome's arm slip around his waist. Her head rested on his shoulder and he knew he didn't have to say anything more. They stayed like that until the sun fully set beyond the horizon.

"Inuyasha." Her soft voice broke through the nighttime noises of the city.

"Hm?" He nuzzled his nose into her hair, inhaling the calming scent he found there.

Shifting slightly, Kagome turned in towards him. "I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful birthday present and to let you know that you were right."

"I was?" Confusion colored his words.

"Yes." She placed both arms around him, which allowed him to do the same to her. Her eyes rose to meet his. "I am proud of you and your wish." With that, she pulled him down into one of those searing kisses that seemed to last forever.

That is until a certain monk turned on a blender to its highest setting.

**The End**


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